Fallen Angel
by Parnopius
Summary: Every angel has a devilish streak. Some are just more prominent than others. NEW: Chapter 62, The Nature of a Soul POSTED ON: 26th December 2012
1. Prologue

**Fallen Angel**

**Disclaimer:** I am not JK Rowling and as such do not own Harry Potter or any of it's characters. I would have thought this was obvious, but perhaps not.

**Spoilers:** Every book up to and including HBP.

**A/N: **Before you start reading, you might want to take into account that this story is a sequel to Fire Burns. It does stand alone but you might be a little less confused if you read FB first. ;) The link is on my user page.

One more thing I must stress though is that this is_ not _a story about Harry Potter. It is simply one in which he features. I am not writing the seventh book; I am just borrowing the timeline & history from books 1-6. Anyone who's read FB can guess who the main character in this story is.

Anyway, without further ado, on with the story. Hope it lives up to your expectations. :D

Enjoy.

**x – X – x**

**Prologue**

An eagle soared through the darkening sky, borne on the gentle summer breeze. Far below, on a remote hill top, three figures were gathered in a graveyard. One, a boy of no more than sixteen, lay motionless on the ground. Another younger boy with a shock of jet black hair stood bound to a gravestone, watching the scene in front of him in horror.

The eagle glided lower…

x – X – x

The last vestiges of sunlight glimmered down onto cold black stones. The dark ocean heaved and swelled, waves breaking relentlessly against the high rocky walls that barred their path. Moans and screams, muffled by hundreds of echoes, could just be heard above the roar and crash of the breakers.

Not even the gulls came out this far; the whole place spoke of pain and despair. You'd have to be mad to go near there.

Of course, stay in there long enough and you'd go mad anyway.

This is Azkaban, worst of all prisons, guarded by the sightless Dementors that leech the happiness out of every living being. Only the really twisted are kept here…

All together.

In the same place.

And someone has yet to spot the major flaw in this.

_Prisoners talk..._

x – X – x

The cauldron fizzed, sparks crackling over the surface in an explosion of light. The third figure had dropped to the ground sobbing and clutching at its maimed arm.

Suddenly a cloud of white steam burst from the cauldron, completely blotting out the scene below. The boy tied to the gravestone watched in impending dread as, gradually, the steam cleared…

x – X – x

"He'll come for me you know," whispered a voice in the darkness. It sounded dry and hoarse, as though it's owner had long ago lost the habit of using it. "And then they'll be sorry. He'll be back."

Another, deeper voice, laughed hollowly. "Keep telling yourself that Lestrange. One day, we might believe it. He's forgotten about us. You know it and we know it. Stop pretending we'll get out of here alive and let me die in peace."

The person named Lestrange didn't answer but another voice rumbled, "Black managed it."

"Dying?"

"Escaping."

"Dying is an escape," said the deep voice flatly.

"Not_ that _Black. The other one. Riddle's Black."

The cells fell silent again, filled with thousands of unspoken words and a new wave of cold spread over the chambers' occupants. Someone moaned softly, shying away from the inescapable presence of the Dementors.

The Dementor glided past and hovered outside the first speaker's cell, inhaling deeply, every breath rattling ominously. The hunched frame of a woman moved restlessly in the darkness at the very back of the cell and for a moment, dark eyes glinted as a ray of fading sunlight filtered down through the looming walls and impenetrable shadows that plagued Azkaban.

The Dementor drew a long hollow breath…

x – X – x

Gradually the steam cleared and a fourth figure became visible, standing in the cauldron, liquid cascading off him, scarlet eyes burning with power.

Lord Voldemort had risen again.

x – X – x

…and something stirred in the bowels of Azkaban. A mind that had long ago shut itself off from the outside world suddenly burst into life.

In the inky blackness of a windowless cell, two sapphire blue eyes snapped open.

_He was back._

**x – X – x**

Reviews are welcome. :)


	2. Sticks and stones

**A/N:** Right, you're going to have to bear with me for a few chapters until everything is explained properly – which it will be, I promise. For now, just go with it and you'll be fine. ;)

Enjoy!

**Chapter 1 – Sticks and Stones**

The Minister looked gloomily down at the reports in front of him. "Well we knew it'd happen eventually, I suppose. Everyone's out?"

"Only the Death Eaters, sir," said Kensington calmly. "They left the others in there."

"But there is something strange, sir," put in Samson. "They appear to have taken a body."

"What?" asked Scrimgeour, glancing up at them, a frown on his face.

"Sixteen years ago one of the inmates died and Julian Dalloway, he'd just been elected Minister, gave the order for the cell to be bricked up," explained Kensington.

"Only when we went to inspect Azkaban, we found it'd been blown open and there was no sign of a body," continued Samson worriedly.

"Was this inmate important?" asked Scrimgeour wearily. He had quite enough on his plate without having to worry about Death Eaters going body snatching.

"Meant to be quite high up by all accounts," answered Kensington, a flicker of unseen amusement dancing in his dark eyes.

"Well then it's simple, isn't it?" sighed Scrimgeour. "They took the remains to bury them, right?"

"But-" began Samson agitatedly.

_"What?"_ demanded Scrimgeour angrily.

"There was nothing in the cell. Nothing at all. And if something decomposes-"

"You're not trying to tell me you think no one was in the cell when it was bricked up, are you?" asked Scrimgeour, giving Samson a derogatory look. "We have people to check this sort of thing. Kensington, who identified the body?"

Kensington shifted, looking almost apologetically at the Minister. "Well you have to understand we had a hard time finding someone who knew-"

"Spit it out man."

Kensington grimaced, then said quietly. "Remus Lupin."

Scrimgeour's eyebrows rose a few inches. "Isn't he that teacher who got fired from Hogwarts a few years back?"

"He resigned, Sir," corrected Samson reproachfully.

"Yes, yes, him," muttered Scrimgeour distractedly. "Well?"

Kensington nodded miserably. "That's him."

"But he's bloody _werewolf_!" shouted Scrimgeour. "You trusted him?"

"He didn't want to come, but since he appeared to be the only contact who wasn't either in Azkaban or suspected of working for Voldemort, we had no other choice."

"What about Dumbledore? You can't tell me you didn't think of asking him," demanded Scrimgeour.

"He wasn't considered close enough," shrugged Kensington. "If he was asked, he must have declined. We can't ask him now anyway."

Scrimgeour frowned, leaning back in his chair and tapping his fingers irritably on the desk. "Pull in Lupin. Give him Verita Serum and see what he has to say for himself. How dangerous is this guy anyway?"

"What, Lupin?"

"No, the Death Eater," snapped Scrimgeour impatiently.

A flicker of a smirk crossed Kensington's face as he shook his head. "I think you must have misunderstood us, Minister. Riddle's not a man, she's a woman."

x – X – x

"Alive?" asked Remus blankly. He was sitting in a cold stone room on Level 2 of the Ministry of Magic, and the patriarchal Auror opposite him had just finished filling him in on the events of the past few hours, complete with photographs of the ruined cell. "But that's impossible." In actual fact it sounded like an incredibly Katherine sort of thing to do, but he wasn't going to admit that. "I saw her body. She was stone cold, and now you're trying to tell me she's _alive_?"

"How can you be sure she was dead?" asked Kensington leaning forward and gazing intently at Remus.

"She wasn't bloody breathing!" exclaimed Remus, angry at the attitude of this man and his patronizing tone. "When people are alive they tend to have more of a heartbeat!"

"Even so," said Kensington calmly, sliding a small vial and a bowl across the table towards him. "If you would be so kind?"

Remus thought about refusing, but decided against it. They only needed a small excuse, like obstructing investigations, to lock him up and throw away the key. Besides, he had nothing to hide. He drained the vial of Verita Serum and withdrew the memory of that visit from his mind with the wand Kensington handed to him.

"Thank you, sir. You've been most obliging," smiled Kensington.

"Can I go now?" asked Remus with a sigh.

"Of course. Have a nice day."

Remus didn't see fit to reply to this so instead he stood up and walked out of the room without a backward glance. Why were they dragging this up again?

"Everything ok?" asked a worried voice, accompanied by a small warm hand slipping into his.

"Fine," murmured Remus, smiling slightly at Tonks, with her electric blue hair. "They were just making a few inquiries."

"So nothing's up?"

Remus shook his head. "Just the Ministry being over excitable."

_As if she was alive. No one could survive in a bricked up cell for sixteen years without food and water. Not even her._

"I'll see you tonight, then?" asked Tonks, grinning. "At the Burrow?"

Remus nodded. "I'll be there."

Tonks kissed him on the cheek, then hurried off, back to work. Remus watched her go for a moment, then headed towards the lifts, thinking about the interview. It had been eighteen years since he'd last spoken to Katherine. The morning of her arrest. Somehow, even when she'd been sentenced to life imprisonment, he'd still thought he'd see her again. Fate apparently had other ideas.

He stuck his hands into his pockets and to his surprise, felt a slip of stiff card in one. He pulled it out and saw it was a photograph – one of the photos the Auror had been showing to him. How it had come to be in his pocket, he had no idea. He sighed, gazing at the dark looking cell, surrounded by fallen bricks and mortar.

_All those adventures, and you go and die in Azkaban. Never did understand your logic, Kat._

He shook his head and stuffed the photograph back into his robes. Some things just weren't meant to be.

x – X – x

Remus was sitting in a chair by the fire, listening to Fred and George explain about their latest idea for the joke shop when the door bell chimed for the tenth time that night. Remus was about to get up and answer it when Fleur came rushing into the room and almost dove for the door handle. She pulled it open, and flung her arms around the new arrival.

Fred and George exchanged curious glances; Fleur had seemed quite happy to let the others greet the visitors before, what was so special about this one? The newcomer was ushered in, Fleur talking animatedly to her in French.

"And this 'es Fred and Georg – Bill's brothers," said Fleur at last, as the robed figure removed her cloak, straight blonde hair falling over her shoulders. "And that 'es-"

"Remus Lupin," said the new woman softly in a surprisingly British accent. Fleur started in surprise and looked from Remus to the woman in bewilderment.

"You 'ave met?" she asked uncertainly.

"Eighteen years ago," whispered the woman, smiling faintly. "You don't remember me, do you Remus?"

Remus, who had in fact been silent as a result of shock, shook his head. "Of course I do – but whatever are you doing here?"

"She was my Engleesh Professeur at Beauxbaton," asserted Fleur, tossing her silvery blonde hair over one shoulder.

"I thought you went to America?" asked Remus, frowning.

"I did, but then I was asked to come back and teach, and Papa needed looking after," explained the woman, shrugging. The bell rang once more and no sooner had Fleur opened the door, than someone flung themselves into the room, knocking Fleur's Professor off her feet. Remus rushed forward immediately, hauling Moody back with a considerable amount of effort.

"Let go of me, man!" shouted Moody angrily. "She-"

"It's not her, Alastor," cut in Remus, as the woman picked herself up with the help of an outraged Fleur. Moody's striving lessened slightly as his electric blue eye swiveled to face Remus.

"Then who the blazes is she?" he demanded, scowling.

"Her name's Faye Belle," said Remus, gazing at Faye over Moody's head. "And she's her cousin."

x – X – x

Later that night, Remus and Faye sat at the kitchen table, listening to the Weasley twins' reenactment of Moody's entry going on in the next room. Remus cringed and apologized for the hundredth time that evening.

"It's fine," assured Faye, smiling wryly. "What I don't understand is why he'd think I _was_ her. She died over sixteen years ago."

This thought had occurred to Remus as well, though he hadn't yet had a chance to run his theory past Moody. He shifted awkwardly, then pulled the photograph of Katherine's cell out of his pocket and pushed it across the table towards Faye.

"I was called into the Ministry earlier," he said in a low voice. "Some Aurors went to inspect Azkaban and they found that someone had broken into her cell. No sign of a body, or anything. Now the Ministry think she's still around. I guess they told Moody – he was in charge of her case."

Faye said nothing for a while, only stared at the photo. "Someone broke in?" she repeated eventually.

Remus nodded. "Sounds stupid, doesn't it. I mean, half of them couldn't stand her to start with."

"Where's the door?" asked Faye, barely acknowledging Remus' comment.

"What? Oh, they bricked the whole thing up. Think Dalloway was worried she wouldn't stay dead if they took her outside the walls to be buried," sighed Remus, frowning slightly at Faye's odd expression. "Why?"

Faye looked up, her green eyes filled with a mixture of worry and fear and, just possibly, a glimmer of hope.

"If someone broke in," she said softly. "Why is all the debris on the outside?"

x – X – x

It was almost midnight when the hooded figure hurried up the deserted street, wandlight flickering before them. It stopped for a moment, the beam of white light illuminating a dirty road sign. _Spinner's End._

Less than a minute later, the same figure knocked softly at the door of the last house in the row. There was a short pause, then a small, balding man opened the door an inch. The figure in the shadows raised an eyebrow.

"Wormtail. So this is where you've got to. Is Severus in?"

Wormtail said nothing, only pulled the door wider and allowed the stranger in, before leading him into the main room. Severus looked up from a book and frowned at his visitor.

"Avery?"

Robert Avery shook back his hood and grinned. "Severus."

"What the bloody hell are you doing here?" demanded Severus, standing up, wand in hand.

"Now, now, Sev. Is that any way to greet an old friend?" reprimanded Robert, drawing his own wand.

"Emphasis on _old_," snarled Severus. "How did you find me?"

"Lestrange told me," said Robert absently, looking distastefully around the room. "_This_ is where you live? I thought Katherine said it was a mansion?"

Severus didn't answer, only glared at the blond man, who grinned again and pulled a photograph out of his pocket.

"Nott came to see me earlier, you remember him, don't you? Well Kensington has been in touch with him, and guess what he found out." Robert tossed the photograph at Severus, who caught it, eyes never flickering from Robert's smirking face.

"An example of poor masonry. How very interesting," remarked Severus dryly. "What is your point?"

"Ah, but it's not," smirked Robert, pocketing his wand, somewhat unwisely in Severus' opinion. "You see, that room, well it's a cell in actual fact, that cell was bricked up sixteen years ago." He grinned at the flicker of comprehension in Severus' eyes, and nodded. "Yeah, you got it."

"Why did they open it?" asked Severus, frowning distrustfully.

"They didn't. They found it like that," said Robert calmly, his brown eyes alert with amusement. "They say someone broke in."

Severus glanced down at the photo once more, and finally caught on to why Robert was looking so pleased with himself. It had probably never even crossed the Ministry's mind to take a closer look at the facts, since what they were suggesting was quite clearly impossible, but it was obvious once you knew who you were dealing with.

No one had broken into this cell, but someone had broken _out_.

x – X – x

Bright sapphire eyes gazed into glassy blue ones. The latter pair belonged to a small statue, roughly two feet high that stood on a small plinth in the center of the cavernous room.

Long, white fingers picked it up, studying it curiously. After a few intense minutes, the figure holding the statue swore profusely and set it roughly back down on the plinth.

"Just my luck," muttered the woman, running a hand through her long black hair. All this effort and it turned out she'd destroyed the real one over two decades ago.

She frowned, casting an eye over the serene statue, depicting a woman wearing a plumed helmet and a linen shift, holding a spear in one hand. On her shoulder sat a bird, but not an owl, as would have been expected, but an eagle.

She wondered why she hadn't noticed it before. When the original statue had arrived, she'd thought it strange that Athena had an eagle on her shoulder, but had copied it just the same. On later sightings of the infamous artifact, she now realized the bird had changed back to an owl.

So Tom had never been after the Statue of Athena after all; it was Ravenclaw's relic he'd wanted back. She had noticed that the spells binding the statue had been a little difficult to undo all those years ago, but she'd presumed it was just because they were old.

She sat down, hugging her knees and thinking hard. Tom must have cast the spell years before hand, then sent it off to Spain to keep it safe while he found somewhere to store it. Then, when everything was ready, he'd made arrangements to steal it back. Only he hadn't counted on a rebellious teenage daughter who was still angry at him for ruining her life.

She sighed, glancing at her watch absently. 1:00am. Well she couldn't stay here for the night.

She got to her feet and shut her eyes before taking a calm step forward into the void below her, and kept walking. As long as her eyes didn't see that she was stepping onto thin air, she wouldn't fall hundreds of feet to her imminent death.

She only opened her eyes when she felt cold air on her face and a breeze rippling her hair. The graveyard was deserted, save for a single bird, high up on tree branch. It soared down to greet her, landing easily on her shoulder.

She stroked it's soft feathers with one hand. Archimedes blinked at her in acknowledgement, then soared off again, high up into the night sky. Katherine waited a few seconds, then transformed and followed him.


	3. Every me and every you

**Chapter 2 – Every me and every you**

"Cass, if you were convicted criminal who hasn't made a lot of friends and is supposed to be dead, where would you hide?"

Cassandra Avery glanced up at her husband, tucking her short blonde hair behind her ear. "What kind of a question is – sit _still_ Katy – is that?"

Robert threw his cloak over a chair and sat down, watching his five year old daughter squirming in her seat. She looked resentfully up at him, bright emerald eyes glittering under her short fringe.

"Purely hypothetical," said Robert casually as Cassie finished plaiting her daughter's hair and the small girl ran over to hug her father. "Well?"

Cassie looked doubtfully at him. "Purely hypothetical?"

"Of course."

Cassie sighed, sitting down opposite him. "I thought we'd been over this, Rob."

"Over what?" asked Robert innocently, as Katy climbed into his lap. Cassie shook her head and gave him a reproving look.

"You know perfectly well what I mean," she said firmly, emerald eyes hard. "And she's not coming back. If she was, she would have turned up when he returned."

Robert was quiet for a moment, one arm around his daughter. His wife had a point. Why did Katherine decide to break out now? You didn't just sit in a cell for eighteen years, then suddenly think 'maybe I'll escape today'. Or did you? No, Katherine was far more calculating than that. She never did anything without good reason.

Unless...

"Besides, if she had escaped, the newspapers would be having a field day," added Cassie, still watching her husband closely.

"Not if they didn't know," murmured Robert. He had the feeling that he'd missed something here, something important...

"How could they not? Azkaban's been guarded by wizards ever since the Dementors fled. Someone would have noticed," said Cassie resolutely, picking up her book.

Robert's head jerked up, staring at her.

_The Dementors._

Dementors had no eyes, they could only sense souls and Katherine had a talent for keeping hers very well hidden. But that would mean...

Cassie glanced up, her green eyes searching his brown ones curiously. "Something wrong?"

Robert said nothing, his mind racing. If Katherine had broken out when Dementors had still been guarding Azkaban, then where on earth had she been for the past two years?

"Rob?" asked Cassie again, a touch of worry in her voice.

Robert looked up, meeting her anxious gaze. "Two years," he murmured, almost to himself. "What in heaven's name has she been up to?"

x – X – x

"Look Alastor, I haven't seen her in over eighteen years. I'm as much in the dark as you are," explained Remus for what felt like the tenth time that day. They were in the Burrow's lounge, trying to avoid being roped into doing something towards the preparations for Bill and Fleur's wedding. Everyone else was so busy, they hadn't been missed yet.

"So she hasn't sought you out?"

"Why would she?" asked Remus, a little bitterly.

"She probably didn't want to get you into trouble," said Faye softly, coming out of the kitchen and setting a cup of tea down in front of him. Moody made a derisive noise.

"Katherine Riddle doesn't give a damn about getting other people into trouble," he said gruffly, his electric blue eye doing somersaults in it's socket. His paranoia seemed to have doubled in the last twenty four hours, making him even more jumpy than usual.

Faye frowned at him. "She cared about her friends."

"And who would they be exactly?" growled Moody. "As I recall no one stood up in her defence at the trial. She was charged for just about every crime she'd ever committed – and she pleaded guilty. She gave up because she knew she was beaten; she made too many enemies."

Remus smiled grimly, but remained silent. Remus knew Katherine too well to suppose she'd given up. There had to be an ulterior motive, there always was with Katherine. She'd never learned to do things the straight forward way.

"She was the daughter of Voldemort. What d'you expect her to do? Win the noble peace prize?" demanded Faye, looking archly at Moody, her cheeks flushed. "She did what she had to do. She's not completely evil, you know. I trust her and Remus trusts her, don't you?"

Remus waved a hand noncommittally. "She called me a fool last time I told her I did. _'Never trust a Slytherin.'_" He sighed heavily, gazing morosely into his mug of tea. "Should have taken her advice. Then maybe we'd have found Snape out earlier. Still, Sirius proposed to her, so he must have found her good side. He'd seen enough dark witches and wizards to last him a lifetime. I don't suppose he would have wanted to marry one."

Moody stared at Remus, both blue eyes wide. "Black proposed?"

Remus smiled mirthlessly. "They'd been engaged three months when she got arrested. I don't think she planned on him getting locked up as well, though I must say being engaged to the daughter of Satan didn't help his case."

"How many people knew?" asked Moody, frowning deeply.

"James, Lily, me," shrugged Remus. "I don't know if she told anyone, though she may have used it to wind Bella up."

"Bellatrix Lestrange?" asked Moody, surprise evident in his voice.

"That would be the one," confirmed Remus. "Those two never did see eye to eye. I can just see her teasing Bella that they were technically going to be related once she married Sirius."

There was a pause, then Moody said gruffly, "Sirius never spoke about her."

Remus looked amusedly up at him. "Would you? He'd only just managed to convince his godson that he wasn't a Death Eater. Casually mentioning that he'd once been engaged to the daughter of the most evil wizard of all time would just be plain stupid. Besides, she was dead. Why drag it all up again?"

There was a crash from outside and the sound of raised voices.

"Look's like Tonks has arrived," remarked Faye, keen to change the subject. She'd only been at the Burrow for one night and already she'd become accustomed to the purple haired Auror's clumsy habits. Remus nodded and stood up, glancing at Moody who was frowning.

"We'll catch her, Remus. Then we'll find out what's really going on," he said firmly.

Remus smiled faintly. "You won't catch her unless she wants to be caught."

"We got her last time," reminded Moody.

"Precisely my point," replied Remus softly. He smiled again then turned and headed towards the source of the commotion outside.

Moody glanced at Faye, who shrugged. "She broke out of the highest security prison in the world. What would you do even if you did find her?"

"Make sure she dies this time," said Moody roughly.

Faye gave him a calculating look, her head on one side. "You could do that?"

"Of course."

"You sure?" she asked, wearing an expression very reminiscent of her cousin.

"Positive," said Moody, getting to his feet and limping slowly out of the room. Faye watched him go, a bemused expression on her face, then she shook her head and wandered off to find Fleur.

x – X – x

The back door of the small terraced house swung open and the figure stood silhouetted in the doorframe. A second later, the same figure turned on her heel and fled away, down the dark slope from which she'd come. By the time the door banged open again, she was already at the fence that divided the garden and the forest beyond. She'd be harder to follow amongst the trees.

But the second figure had caught up with her now, grabbing her from behind and hauling her down from the fence. She struggled to turn around, to see the face of her hunter, but strong arms bound her tightly. Finally, instinct kicked in and she stuck a foot between his legs and twisted, causing them both to tumble over into the small stream that ran along the bottom of the garden.

The man grunted in pain as he hit the ground, Katherine falling on top of him. She frowned and trapped his hands in hers, searching for a wand. She found in his right hand and twisted his wrist painfully until he dropped it.

The man tried to raise his head but Katherine pointed the fallen wand at his throat and he stopped. There was a long pause, interrupted only by the sound of heavy breathing as both parties tried to catch their breath, then a voice said calmly.

"I'm getting soaked, you know."

Katherine froze. _That voice..._

The moon was behind her, it's pale light making the garden look strangely anemic and causing her shadow to fall over the man's thin face. She moved, her tattered shoes squelching incongruously, and looked down at the features of the black robed man.

There was another pause, this one even longer than the first, then Katherine jumped up, water cascading off her jeans and made to run towards the house. The man was quicker, reaching out to grab her wrist and pulling her back down onto the muddy grass before she could get away.

"Get _off_ me," snarled Katherine, glaring into eyes as black and cold as midnight in the arctic.

"Not until you promise not to run away again," said the man calmly, tightening his grip on her arm.

"I'm not promising anything," growled Katherine, wincing ever so slightly. The man either didn't see it or pretended not to, since he made no effort to lessen his hold.

"What are you doing here, Katherine?" he asked, his voice devoid of any emotion.

Katherine said nothing, only glared, her free hand moving slowly towards the wand that lay abandoned a few feet away.

"Oh no you don't," said the man grimly, catching her other arm and pulling both towards him, away from the wand. "Where's your one anyway?"

"They broke it when I went to Azkaban," said Katherine hollowly.

The man was silent for a while, his dark eyes flickering over her pale face and slim frame.

"You look awfully good for someone who's been dead for sixteen years," he said eventually. "Eighteen years in the worst prison in the world doesn't seem to have affected you much."

Katherine tilted her head to one side, the faintest trace of a smile on her lips. "Eighteen, Severus? How long d'you think I stayed in there?"

Severus Snape opened his mouth to reply, then closed it. The truth was that that had been bothering him ever since Avery had been to visit him - there was no motive for breaking out. But if Katherine had been out for a while...

"Seventeen years?" he ventured, his grip on her hands finally relenting.

Katherine shook her head, rubbing her wrists. "Do your maths, Severus. Dad came back two summers ago."

"The Dark Lord?" asked Severus, surprise mingled with something like relief in his voice. Katherine gave him a sideways look from under her curtain of dark hair. It was shorter than Severus remembered and cut differently, making her look older and somehow more dangerous than she had before.

"Of course," replied Katherine, fiddling with a ring on her hand. Severus glanced down at it, expecting to see the sapphire studded ring that he was used to and got a slight shock. It wasn't sapphire, it was diamond and it wasn't on Katherine's right hand, it was on her left. "What else d'you think I'd break out for?"

Severus didn't answer, the sight of the ring taking up all conscious thought. _Engaged. She'd been engaged to him..._

"Severus?"

Severus looked up. "What?"

"I asked what happened a year ago," said Katherine, frowning at him.

"Why?" asked Severus, still not thinking properly.

"Because you guessed seventeen years," explained Katherine, her blue eyes searching his face.

"Nothing," said Severus shortly, reaching for his wand and standing up. "I shouldn't be here."

Katherine's frown increased. "What d'you mean? Didn't Dad send you here?"

"He thinks you're dead," said Severus quietly. "If you've got any sense, you'll make sure he doesn't find anything to change his mind."

"Wait," said Katherine sharply, grabbing at the nearest part of him she could reach, which happened to be his foot. Then there was the uncomfortable feeling that always accompanied apparation and next second Katherine found herself sitting not on grass, but on hard wooden floorboards.

Severus glared down at her. "What did you do that for?"

Katherine didn't answer, choosing to take in her surroundings instead. There was the shuffle of feet then a short balding man came into view, carrying a chipped mug of something that Katherine supposed was tea. She frowned, then asked very slowly.

"Peter?"

The man dropped the mug and fled up a small staircase that had been set into the wall.

"What's he so scared of?" she asked to no one in particular as she got to her feet.

"At a guess, I'd say you," remarked Severus acridly.

Katherine gave him one of her looks, then asked more carefully, "What's he doing here? You hated the Marauders."

"Your father ordered him to be my assistant," answered Severus frostily, sitting down in a chair. Katherine looked back at the staircase up which Peter had disappeared, and frowned, trying to make sense of this.

"But he's not...he _can't_ be a...is he?"

Severus looked up, mildly surprised. "Don't you read the papers?"

Katherine gave him a derogatory look. "How am I supposed to buy a paper when everyone thinks I'm dead?"

"You're a metamorphmagus, Katherine, or had you forgotten?"

"Not all the Death Eaters went to Azkaban, Severus. You of all people should know that. Someone would be bound to recognise me."

"Well you can hardly expect them not to if you walk around looking exactly as you did before," remarked Severus, frowning at her.

"I'm staying at my parents' old house. The neighbours would think it odd if someone completely different turned up when the house was never sold. And as for the small wizard village that used to be on the other side of the wood, it was burnt down during the first war, so I'm in no danger from that." She sighed, then sat down in the chair opposite him. "Why was Peter in the papers, anyway?"

"Black was supposed to have killed him," said Severus shortly. "Along with twelve mudbloods."

Katherine frowned. "Regulus? But he's dead."

Severus scowled, thought Katherine couldn't imagine why. "Not that Black. _Your_ Black."

"Sirius?" asked Katherine in surprise. There was a pause, then, "_That's_ why he was sent to Azkaban? That rat set him up? And now he's working for _you_?"

"I'd hardly call it working. He's utterly useless," said Severus sourly, casting a disdainful look at the stairs. Katherine glared at him and started towards the staircase. Severus made no move to stop her, but called lazily, "I wouldn't if I were you. I don't wish to have to explain to your father how Peter came to such a messy end whilst staying at my house. Of course if you planning on using a simple Avada Kedavra, then-"

"I wasn't," said Katherine shortly. "I don't have a wand." She smiled grimly at Severus' look of confusion. "There's more than one way to send people to hell, Severus. One of them is making sure they stay alive."

Something indefinable flickered in Severus' dark eyes for a moment, then it was gone. "I see Bella's going to have some competition. Should I tell her to watch her back?"

"If she's got any sense, she'll be doing that already," answered Katherine, smiling slightly. "But I've got no reason to harm her, have I?"

Severus stared at her for a long moment, then asked cautiously. "You do know about Sirius, don't you?"

Katherine looked at the floor, all hint of amusement vanishing from her face in an instant. "He's dead."

"Do you know how?"

Katherine glanced up, her blue eyes puzzled. "Azkaban. His cell was empty – I checked."

Severus considered her for a while. "You knew he was in Azkaban, but you didn't know he escaped? How is that possible?"

"He _what_?"

"Escaped. Went to find that rat upstairs, but Potter stopped him and Wormtail got away. The long and short of it is that he died the year before last – fell through a veil in the Department of Mysteries."

Katherine stared at him in shocked silence. "The veil...? But why was he there? And what does Trix have to do with it?"

"He was attempting to help Potter retrieve the prophecy," said Severus tonelessly. "And by all accounts it was Bella who pushed him through the veil."

"That's the second time you've mentioned Potter," said Katherine quietly. "But if he's alive, then why didn't he try and get Sirius out of Azkaban? And come to think of it, why did Dad disappear in the first place?"

Severus looked at her for a long moment, the extent of Katherine's ignorance finally dawning on him. She'd gone to Azkaban the year before Voldemort fell, which meant she knew nothing of the Potter's deaths or of their betrayer, let alone their son. Or of Dumbledore for that matter.

He was still trying to think of what to say when the Dark Mark flared on his arm and a muffled thump from above indicated Wormtail had felt it too. Even Katherine winced, her right hand clutching at her left arm.

"I take it you won't be attending," said Severus softly, conjuring a mask for himself.

"Are you going to tell of me?" asked Katherine, something of her old mischief dancing in her bright eyes.

"I shall not lie to the Dark Lord."

"Then I'd better hope he doesn't ask about me," sighed Katherine as Peter appeared, small watery eyes fixed on her. "Doesn't he ever talk?" she asked, staring back.

Severus glanced at the small man. "I put Silencio on him. Suppose I'd better remove it before we leave."

Katherine watched thoughtfully as Severus undid the spell, then leant down to gaze into the frightened black eyes of the squat little man.

"If you mention one word about me to anyone," she said softly. "I will hunt you down and set Moony on you. Understand?"

Peter squeaked in response and hurriedly disapparated. Severus nodded at her, and followed suit. Katherine stood alone in the deserted room, then tugged at a chain on her neck. Suspended from it was a silver pendant, composing of two snakes, twined around each other. A permanent portkey. She held the pendant in one hand and whispered softly: "Ollivander's."

x – X – x

When Severus and Peter returned to the house later that evening, the place was deserted, not a thing out of place. Severus was mildly surprised that she hadn't gone snooping through his things. He thought about their earlier conversation and wondered when she was going to find out the answers to her questions. Soon probably, now that she knew what to ask.

He sighed, removing his mask and hooded cloak. Funny thing though, despite her flood of questions, she'd never once asked what the prophecy was...

**x – X – x**

_R&R!_


	4. The small print

**Chapter 3 – The small print**

Faye found Remus at the bottom of the garden, reading the Daily Prophet in the fading rays of twilight.

"Lovely day, wasn't it?" she asked conversationally. "The wedding," she added, just in case Remus didn't know what she meant.

"Mmm," replied Remus, closing the paper and looking up at her. She looked so like Katherine, it was alarming. Same face, same eyes in a manner of speaking, save for they were bright green as opposed to Katherine's vivid blue. The hair was the only real difference; golden blonde when it should have been black.

"You miss her, don't you?" sighed Faye, sitting down on the bench next to him.

Remus smiled weakly. "When I met Sirius again, after twelve years of Azkaban, I can't even begin to describe how I felt - I got one of my best friends back, after years of solitude. Then he went and got himself killed and I was alone again. Now..." He shrugged and shook his head. "Katherine isn't Sirius. She isn't innocent. I don't know what I'd do if she turned up."

"She's your friend," said Faye firmly. "You wouldn't hand her over to the Aurors."

"She wouldn't let me, you mean," said Remus dryly. "Besides, friends don't usually try to kill other friends."

Faye frowned. "You wouldn't-"

"That wasn't what I meant."

"Well she certainly wouldn't hurt you-" began Faye again.

"I didn't mean that either," sighed Remus, running a hand through his grey flecked hair. He was silent for a moment, then said in a different voice. "I was going to go to the flat tomorrow. See if she's been there or anything. D'you want to come?"

"The flat?" asked Faye, her green eyes questioning.

"We shared a flat in London for a while," answered Remus, gazing absently down the garden. "Haven't been there since she was arrested. Couldn't stand how empty it felt with only one person living there."

"But wasn't she engaged to your friend?"

Remus chuckled softly. "Oh yes, but she refused to move in with him. Don't think she trusted him an inch."

Faye smiled faintly, the dying rays of sunlight glimmering on her hair. She'd only met Sirius Black a few times, but from what she'd seen, she could well understand her cousin's misgivings.

"Did he have a lot of girlfriends?" she asked, grinning at Remus.

"He had a fanclub," said Remus darkly, though he couldn't help smiling a little himself.

"And you?" probed Faye mischievously.

"The pale, bony boy who always looked as though he'd been in a fight?" asked Remus, eyebrows raised. "No, Sirius and James attracted most of the romantic attention. I doubt many girls paid me a second glance with Prongs and Padfoot beside me."

"I did," said Faye softly, looking playfully at Remus with bright emerald eyes. She grinned slyly at the flicker of surprise in Remus' eyes. "You didn't think I'd forgotten about that, did you?"

"It was a long time ago..."

"It's not the kind of thing you forget," interjected Faye, turning towards him, burnished eyes glittering.

"No, I suppose not," agreed Remus quietly, gazing at the setting sun. _So very alike, yet so very different..._

"Does Tonks know?" asked Faye abruptly. Remus looked up, startled.

"I don't see why she should. She was just a child when-"

"I _meant_ about Katherine," said Faye, her expression torn between amusement and despair.

"Oh," said Remus quickly, flushing scarlet. "Um, no, I don't think she does."

"You should tell her," said Faye softly. "Before she finds out from someone else." She smiled faintly and ruffled his hair with a casual hand. "Night Moony. See you tomorrow."

Remus nodded and managed a small smile. "Goodnight Faye. Sleep tight."

x – X – x

"…don't see what the problem is, Cissa," said the black haired woman, looking calmly at her sister. "It's done now. Draco has pledged his allegiance-"

"He's too young," said Narcissa, shaking her head in despair.

"He will learn soon enough," said a sharp voice, and Narcissa turned to see her husband standing in the doorway. "Many people were around his age last time."

"And how many of them still live?" asked Narcissa, a steely note in her voice.

"Not many," admitted Lucius, as calm as ever. "But that's because they were in Riddle's year and she did away with half of them."

"Katherine Riddle?" asked a new voice, a hint of awe and excitement barely concealed in it. Katherine was famous amongst the Death Eaters, albeit for the entirely wrong reasons. Lucius glanced down at his son, a grim smile on his lips. "Didn't it take twenty Aurors to catch her?" asked Draco, his grey eyes alight with interest.

From the corner, his aunt sniffed disdainfully. "I've always thought there was something a bit fishy about that. She was never quite…quite… I can't put my finger on it, but there was something not right about her," declared Bella in dark tones.

"You wouldn't be saying that if she was still around," said Lucius, smirking.

"And you wouldn't be glorifying her if she was," countered Bella. "You despised each other!"

"We may not have seen eye to eye on some occasions, but I wouldn't go so far as to say-" began Lucius.

"She called you a slimy conniving bastard," said Bella, her dark eyes glittering maliciously, daring Lucius to rise to the bait, which he might well have done, had not the fireplace flared green, a man stepping out of the flames and into the room.

"Good evening Severus," said Lucius, a little too hastily to be entirely credible. "To what do we owe the pleasure?"

"I was hoping to speak with Nott. Is he here?"

"The Drawing Room," said Lucius, keen to keep the subject away from Katherine Riddle. The last thing he wanted was to mention her in front of Severus. His old friend had never quite come to terms with her death. For months afterwards, he'd been convinced it was all a hoax, even after that werewolf friend of hers had confirmed that she was indeed gone, never to return. Thank goodness.

Severus nodded curtly and crossed the room in a few long strides, closing the door softly behind him. Bella sat up a little in her chair, frowning after him.

"When was the last time he spoke to Nott?" she asked, dark eyes scheming.

"Does it matter?" asked Lucius icily. Bella glanced at him, her face a mask of innocence.

"Of course not. It was just an observation. He hasn't had anything to do with Nott since they were at school together."

"Well maybe he wants to reminisce with him," remarked Lucius sourly, his eyes mocking. "You never know, he might have a heart..."

x – X – x

Severus didn't bother knocking on the Drawing Room door; it wasn't as though Daemon had anything to hide. Consequently, he was a little surprised to find that Daemon wasn't alone. A red headed woman stood at the desk where he was sitting, smiling at something he was saying and a tall man stood by the window, his scarlet hair clashing with the velvet curtains. The latter turned around, fixing deep brown eyes on Severus, and nodded grimly in acknowledgement.

"Severus."

Daemon and the woman glanced around at the sound, and the woman suddenly smiled in delight. "Severus! I haven't seen you in ages! How are you?"

Severus stared at her as though she was mad. Who in Salazar's name was she? And the man? Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Daemon's hazel eyes glittering in amusement, enjoying Severus' obvious discomfort. He leant back in his chair and grinned a sly smile.

"You remember Alexandra, Severus," he said lazily, eyebrows raising slightly. "And James, of course," he added, gesturing towards the red haired man. "McKenzie," he prompted when Severus still looked blank.

Severus stared at Alexandra who was giving him a look very reminiscent of Katherine. The McKenzie twins who'd transferred to Durmstrang in Severus' second year at Hogwarts. He hadn't seen them since...since Parkinson's funeral, and that was over two decades ago.

"I didn't recognise you," he muttered, glancing over at James who was smirking.

"Evidently," remarked Alex, laughing, her dark eyes shining. "But you'll have plenty of time to get used to us again. We don't intend on going anywhere."

"Mother passed away a few months ago," filled in James, giving Severus a calculating look. "Or we would have come sooner."

"She didn't want us involved with the war," sighed Alex, rolling her eyes. "I don't think she ever really understood The Cause. Stuck us in Beauxbaton after Father died to try and get us away from it all."

"Didn't work, of course," said James wryly. He smiled shortly, then looked sharply up at Severus, as though he'd just thought of something. "You remember Katherine Riddle? She was in our year?"

Severus nodded in agreement, while Daemon smirked. Asking Severus if he remembered Katherine was like asking Voldemort if he remembered Dumbledore. There were some people you never forget.

"Well I swear there was this girl who looked exactly like her at Beauxbaton," continued James, shaking his head. "Name was Faye something or other."

"Belle," said Alex promptly. "She was Professor Belle's daughter, remember?"

"Belle?" asked Severus, frowning. There was something vaguely familiar about that name, but he couldn't remember where he'd come across it before. He was sure he hadn't met anyone called Belle. Maybe he'd read it somewhere?

"That's right."

There was a pause, then Daemon suddenly asked, "Did you want something, Severus? Only you looked a little preoccupied when you came in."

Severus glanced over at him, mind refocusing on the task in hand. "I was going to ask..." he hesitated, all too aware of the presence of Alex and James a few feet away. "...if you'd seen Avery lately."

"Robert?" asked Daemon in surprise. "I don't see why I should've. We were never the best of friends, even in school. Why on earth would you suppose that I had?"

"I didn't," said Severus shortly. "I was just asking. I wanted a word with him."

"Why?" asked Alex incredulously, tilting her head to one side so that her flaming red hair fell over her shoulders. "He's an imbecile. From all accounts he only scraped three Acceptables in his NEWT's; the rest were Poor or lower."

"True. That's why he went into politics," said Daemon dryly, his hazel eyes watching Severus closely, as though he didn't quite believe his explanation. Alex laughed again and turned back to the papers that lay scattered on the desk behind Daemon.

"No, Avery went into politics for the same reason he was made Quidditch Captain," said Severus calmly, turning to leave. "He an excellent actor and can get away with just about anything."

Daemon grinned. "You know, I always wondered why Riddle never became a politician. She could talk her way out of anything."

"Even being dead?" asked Alex, raising an eyebrow.

"She could do anything if she put her mind to it," remarked Severus darkly. "But I'm sure she was happy doing whatever job she ended up doing."

"She never said. I suppose that's in the job description, really," mused Daemon. Severus shrugged; he'd never actually known what Katherine's job was. It hadn't really seemed to matter back then.

"Well I have things to do," he said, reaching for the door handle. "It was good to see you again." He nodded to each of them, then left, closing the door behind him.

x – X – x

The sun shone brightly on Remus and Faye as they stepped off a red double-decker bus and looked up at the block of flats in front of them. The marble walls were grimy black where they met the street, but this faded to grey and then to white as the tower block rose up to the sky.

"Lovely clean city," remarked Faye, nudging a discarded coke can with her foot.

"You prefer Paris, do you?" asked Remus, starting towards the revolving glass doors that stood a little way down the street. "With all the maniac drivers?"

Faye cast a pointed look towards the busy road behind them, and tossed her hair over her shoulder. "It's not that much worse than here. Besides, Paris is more...picturesque."

"And London's my home," replied Remus, stepping inside the building, Faye following. "Wouldn't swap it for the world."

Faye looked around the ornate lobby, eyebrows raised. "Well I dare say I could get used to it. Exactly how much did it cost to live here?"

"A lot," said Remus, shrugging and hailing a lift. "The lease is in Katherine's name. She bought it outright, if I remember correctly..." The lift doors hissed open and they stepped inside, Remus tapping the sixth floor button discreetly with his wand. "...which would be why no one ever came to find us to demand rent."

"Would there be a problem with that?" asked Faye as the lift slowed to a halt.

"Katherine made it unplottable, in a manner of speaking," said Remus, smiling faintly. "Well I suppose it's more like a Fidelus charm, only there's no secret keeper. The lift stops at the sixth floor if someone pushes the button, but you have to use the right wand to ensure the real flat's there when you open the door. Anyone trying to surprise us would just find an empty flat, though we could see them of course."

"Sounds complicated," said Faye as they walked the short stretch of corridor that led from the lift to two doors. "But doesn't that mean Aurors could still search the flat?"

"Yes, but Katherine always kept anything important either on her or-" Remus pulled a key out of his pocket and slotted it into the lock in the right hand door. "-in a place that doesn't exist if someone forces entry."

"Which is?" asked Faye, looking around. There was a corridor in front of her with five doors leading off it, all of them closed. To her right was a kitchen with only a sideboard separating it from the hall.

"Guess," offered Remus, walking through the kitchen and into the lounge area beyond it. Faye followed him, casting an eye over the range of furniture in the room. She'd seen portraits hanging up in the hall, but she didn't think Katherine would be as obvious as to hide something behind them. As for the lounge, there was a white sofa at the far end of the room and a bookcase leaning against one wall. Someone had positioned a table and chairs near the kitchen end of the room and a gilded statue stood near the door to the hall.

The only other thing in the room was a polished mahogany chest which looked suspiciously like a drinks cabinet. Faye glanced at Remus, who conjured two glasses immediately.

"Care for a drink?" he asked casually, setting them down on top of the cabinet.

"That's where she kept her stuff?" asked Faye, tugging at the door that was set into the chest.

"She always was protective of her alcohol," shrugged Remus, pulling another, smaller key out of his pocket and inserting it into a lock that Faye could have sworn hadn't been there a minute ago.

"Don't joke, Remus. This is serious," objected Faye, frowning disapprovingly at him.

"I was being serious," protested Remus. "She kept a few bottles in here for emergencies."

"Such as?" inquired Faye, eyebrows raised.

"Such as getting engaged or for when Tom ordered her to do something she didn't want to do, or-"

"I thought she didn't want to do anything Tom told her to do," interrupted Faye.

"I wouldn't say that," said Remus carefully, letting his hand fall from the handle of the cabinet. "She wasn't exactly a saint, Faye."

"Then why did you stay with her?" demanded Faye, looking hard at him.

"Because she's my oldest friend," said Remus, meeting her gaze steadily. "And because she needed me, almost as much as I needed her."

He paused, unable to break away from Faye's emerald green gaze, then shook his head, reaching out for the door handle. "Nobody's perfect," he said softly, pulling the door open in one smooth movement. "...least of all Katherine."

Faye frowned, then turned her head to look inside and saw what he meant. She'd been expecting a few rolls of parchment and perhaps a couple of bottles of alcohol not...this - a room the size of the Beauxbaton Dining Hall crammed with filing cabinets and cardboard boxes.

"She uh, kept busy, huh?" said Faye weakly after she'd overcome her initial shock.

"That's one way of putting it," agreed Remus. "Look, why don't you go see if she left anything in her room. I'll see what I can find in here."

"No, it's all right-"

"Faye, I insist," said Remus firmly, laying hand on her shoulder. "Go on. It's the first door on the left as you come in."

"Won't she mind us going through her stuff?" asked Faye, torn between curiosity and guilt.

"She's pretended to be dead for nearly two decades. I think she's lost the right to object," said Remus calmly.

Faye hesitated, then nodded and hurried out of the room. She found the room easily enough and opened the door cautiously. To her surprise, she found the room was painted pink with a blue carpet. Somehow pink and Katherine didn't seem to go together, but Faye shrugged it off and started paying attention to the contents of the room. There was a bed and a desk, as well as another bookcase, this one containing tomes that looked far more suspicious than those in the lounge. There was also what had probably been a plant eighteen years ago, but was now no more than a clump of dried earth and shriveled brown foliage.

Faye stood still for a moment, then bent down and felt under the bed, her fingers soon closing on cold metal. She slid the metal box out and flipped the latch open. Inside lay a journal, bound in white leather and a few rolls of parchment, surprisingly well preserved. She took these out and examined the rest of the contents. A silver charm bracelet lay at the bottom of the box along with a tatty envelope with no address.

Faye turned it over and found saw that it had never been sealed. Frowning, she opened it and peered inside. It wasn't a letter, as she'd supposed, but instead a collection of photographs. Just as she was about to take them out, she heard the lift doors open and footsteps sound down the hall. Hastily, she threw everything back into the box and snapped it shut before picking it up and running back into the lounge.

"Remus? Hurry up, someone's coming!"

Remus appeared a moment later, a satchel slung over his back. "They won't be able to see us," he said softly, though his tense expression did nothing to ease Faye's nerves. "And we have a right to be here."

"D'you think they'll see it like that?" asked Faye, raising her eyebrows.

Remus considered this for a moment. "No."

"Then what do we do?"

"We wait till they come in, then we run like hell for the lift," said Remus, moving towards the hall.

"We can't disapparate?" asked Faye, following him, just as a thud from the front door told her that someone was trying to get in.

"No."

"Floo?" she asked, catching sight of a scrap of paper lying on the floor just outside Katherine's room. She must have missed it when she was re-packing the box. She snatched it up and put it in her pocket as Remus stopped by the door.

"No fireplace – it's a modern building," he said quietly, watching the door shudder under the force of someone's foot.

"Portkey then?" asked Faye desperately. She didn't fancy trying to outrun Aurors.

"N- wait..." Remus stopped, then changed direction and hurried to the other end of the hall, opening the door to what turned out to be a balcony. There was a disused water fountain in one corner, covered in green algae and it was to this that Remus headed. He put a hand on the top of it and twisted sharply. The carved stone statue that sat atop the fountain shifted a little, then stopped. Remus swore under his breath and tried again, using both hands this time.

Back in the hall, a crash indicated that the door had given way. "That didn't take very long," whispered Faye. Even though Remus had said the intruders couldn't hear them, she didn't think it was a good idea to talk too loudly.

"We usually relied on the wards to keep unwanted visitors out," muttered Remus, tugging hard at the fountain. "They must have deteriorated a little over the past decade or so- Finally!" He held out the stone ornament to Faye with a triumphant smile.

_"Quick, Reeves, out the back!"_ shouted a male voice.

"I thought you said no one could see us," hissed Faye, her frantic fingers closing over Remus' hand and the portkey it held.

"Perhaps they just saw the door," suggested Remus, concentrating hard on the desired destination. A man with jet black hair burst onto the balcony, wand out and pointing directly at Faye. Remus whipped out his own wand and shouted the spell Katherine had taught him years ago. He just had time to register the look of surprise on the man's face before the portkey awoke at last and tugged them away, spinning through space towards safety. Or at least, to somewhere safer than their previous location...


	5. RAB

**Chapter 4 – R.A.B.**

**_1st November, 18 years previously_**

_"And you're not going to muck it up this time, are you?" asked Bella acidly, giving Katherine a hard look. Katherine just stared back, expression as insolent as always._

_"It wasn't _my_ fault it messed up last time," she replied calmly. "Jenkins gave us away."_

_"And then he just happens to drop dead, conveniently preventing him from giving us his version of events," stated Bella, her dark eyes narrowed to slits. "Which, incidentally, is exactly what happened to the other eleven partners every time the Dark Lord's asked you to do something like this."_

_"Funny that," agreed Katherine, blue eyes far too innocent to be believable. "Maybe if he stopped giving me imbeciles to work with, I might actually get somewhere."_

_Bella smiled, a smug look of triumph in her eyes. "Wish granted, Riddle. He's sent you Wilkes."_

_"Leon?" asked Katherine, sitting up in her chair. "You're making me work with _Leon_?"_

_"_I'm_ not making you do anything," objected Bella, still smirking. "It's your father's orders. Besides, you're twenty three, surely you're not bothered about something that happened half a decade ago?"_

_"Course not," muttered Katherine, scowling. "But Leon is."_

_"Well that's what happens when you leave someone handcuffed to a tree in the middle of snow covered Siberia," shrugged Bella. "What d'you expect him to do? Forgive and forget?"_

_"No," said Katherine calmly, glittering blue eyes rising to meet Bella's. "I expected him to die."_

x – X – x

Remus caught Faye's arm as the portkey deposited them at their destination, and waited for the world to stop spinning.

"Where are we?" asked Faye, grateful of Remus' steadying hand on her arm. She looked around cautiously, taking in the red tiled floor and cabinets around the walls. It didn't look particularly well guarded. It looked, well, like a kitchen.

"Bristol," said Remus, letting go of her arm and tucking the used portkey into his pocket. "Another safe house."

"Did Katherine buy this one too?" asked Faye, watching a tap drip idly into a washing up bowl.

"No, she inherited it," said Remus, pulling up a chair and sitting down. "Childhood home," he explained at Faye's questioning glance.

"Oh, her adoptive parent's house," said Faye quietly. Katherine had told her about them; they'd been murdered here, maybe even in this very room. Faye shivered involuntarily and, to distract herself, wandered over to the sink, twisting the tap sharply so that the dripping stopped. "Are we safe here?" she asked, glancing back at Remus.

"Reasonably," answered Remus, then stopped, staring at her. She hesitated, tilting her head to one side.

"Are you alright?"

Remus frowned slightly and stood up, gazing into sink. Faye looked down at the basin and then up at him. What was so interesting?

"Someone's been here," he said softly, drawing his wand.

"How d'you know that?" asked Faye, utterly perplexed.

Remus pointed at the washing up bowl. "If that tap had been dripping for eighteen years, the bowl would've overflowed."

Faye looked down at the bowl again; there was barely an inch of water lying at the bottom of it. Slowly, she drew her wand from her belt and looked up at Remus. "D'you think they're still here?"

Remus shrugged, listening intently. After a few minutes, he sighed; the house was empty. Faye read his expression and let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding.

"We should get back," said Remus quietly. "We can use disillusionment charms to get into the forest out the back and then apparate back to the Burrow from there."

Faye nodded, preparing to cast the spell, but she paused for a second gazing at Remus. "Was it her?"

Remus looked up, looking unconvincingly bewildered. "Was what who?"

"The someone. Was it Katherine?" asked Faye, her green eyes burning with curiosity.

Remus shrugged again and promptly vanished from sight, a faint outline of distorted air the only clue that he still stood there. Faye bit her lip but followed suit and hurried after him as the back door swung open and Remus headed towards the forest. _I'll take that as a yes then..._

x – X – x

**_5th November, 18 years previously_**

_Leon Wilkes looked up at his partner over the smooth mahogany table. She'd been studiously ignoring him for almost half an hour now._

_"You know, some people might think that a team have to talk to make plans," he said, smiling pleasantly, though there was a dark glint in his brown eyes. "There's no 'I' in team, and all that."_

_Katherine raised her head and considered him with alarmingly blue eyes. "There's a 'me' in team," she pointed out calmly. "And I intend to make full use of it."_

_"Well aren't we Little Miss Sunshine today?" remarked Leon, leaning back in his chair and surveying her critically._

_Katherine laid down her quill and rested her folded arms on the desk, looking wearily up at the tousled haired man before her. "Leon, do you really want me to hurt you? Because I can, and believe me I will, if you don't shut the hell up."_

_"Is this how you solve all your problems, then?" asked Leon, meeting her gaze serenely. "With violence?"_

_"Yes," said Katherine simply, giving him a small smile that radiated hatred before returning to her work, just as the door to the study opened._

_"Does Regulus owe you two any money or anything?" asked Bella, fastening her cloak with an elaborate silver clasp._

_"What?"_

_"Money? Regulus? Drinks, possibly. Heaven knows he gets through the stuff," remarked Bella, adjusting her robes._

_"He's usually the one buying," said Katherine slowly, observing Bella curiously. "Why d'you want to know? You're not going to see him are you?"_

_Bella smiled like a tiger and tossed her hair elegantly over her shoulder. "The Dark Lord has commanded me to pay my little cousin a visit. It seems his work has been less than satisfactory of late."_

_"It'll be even less satisfactory is he _is_ late," pointed out Leon, grinning. Katherine shot him a look of pure venom, then turned her attention back to Bella._

_"What's wrong with his work? He's done just as much as the rest of us."_

_"He let those muggles escape last week," said Bella, shrugging. "You call that good?"_

_"Someone hit him around the head with a cricket bat!" objected Katherine, staring at her. "I'm surprised he managed to get up at all!"_

_"Well there's very little brain to damage in that thick head of his," said Bella with a sly smile. "Besides, he should have seen it coming."_

_Katherine arched an eyebrow. "From behind him?"_

_"You can be as sarcastic as you like, Riddle," smiled Bella sweetly. "After today, it won't matter; little Regulus' time just ran out." Bella smiled again and swept from the room, black cloak swishing in her wake._

_Leon chuckled, shaking his head. "Your allies just seem to drop like flies, don't they Riddle?" He looked up, his smirk fading as he frowned at the empty seat opposite him. "Riddle?"_

x – X – x

Harry sat on his makeshift bed in Ron's room, looking down at the list in front of him which was written in Hermione's neat hand.

_1. The diary_

_2. Salazar's ring_

_3. Salazar's locket_

_4. Hufflepuff's cup_

_5. Something of Gryffindor's or Ravenclaw's_

_6. Nagini_

Four parts of Voldemort's soul to find and he hadn't the faintest idea where to start looking.

"What you up to?" asked a soft voice from the doorway. Harry looked up to see Ginny leaning against the doorframe, her light brown eyes gazing at him.

"Uh, nothing much," said Harry, tucking the hurriedly folded paper back into his pocket.

"Well Gabrielle's downstairs. She wants to say goodbye," informed Ginny, tucking a stray strand of hair behind one ear.

"Oh, right," said Harry awkwardly. "I um, I'd better..." He gestured weakly to the stairs, smiled apologetically and sidled past Ginny and down the stairs.

After he'd bade farewell to the small blonde, Harry wandered into the lounge and found Remus and Fleur's Professor sitting by the fire, discussing some new Ministry initiative. Hermione sat in an armchair, engrossed in the _Standard Book of Spells - Grade 7_ and Ron was sprawled across the sofa, flicking through the latest copy of Martin Miggs.

"Having second thoughts about leaving school?" he asked, taking a seat beside Hermione.

Hermione glanced up, frowning slightly. "Of course not. There won't _be_ a Hogwarts if we don't defeat him," she said softly, so that Remus and Faye wouldn't overhear. "But I'd ordered this book at the end of last term and I thought there might be something useful in it. If Voldemort planted the early ones just after he left school then he's bound to have been influenced by this book, right?"

Harry nodded; he was too weary to argue and besides, Hermione had a point. Now if they only knew where to start looking...

His train of thought was broken off abruptly as a bundle of ginger fur bounded into the room, a struggling gnome held firmly in it's jaws.

"Crookshanks!" exclaimed Hermione, swooping down upon her cat. Crookshanks dropped the gnome who landed on his head, watched it for a moment to see if it would do anything interesting, then padded over his mistress, purring.

The gnome sat dazed on the floor for a moment but leapt to it's feet as Ron dove for it, missing completely and cannoning into Remus' chair, whereupon the bag that had been balanced there emptied it's contents over both him and the floor. The gnome chattered angrily at him before making a rude gesture and scuttling back the way it'd come.

Ron muttered an apology and started picking up the various sheets of paper, glaring at a laughing Harry. Hermione knelt beside Ron to help, though he couldn't help noticing the smirk on her face.

Remus thanked them, then frowned at Hermione who was staring at the last piece of parchment with an odd expression. "Something wrong, Hermione?"

Hermione glanced up and turned the paper around. "Who drew this?"

Remus looked at the sketch, frowning deeply. There were four characters drawn on it, each bearing some resemblance to one of the four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. "I've no idea," he murmured, examining it closely. There was something oddly familiar about the four people in the drawing.

"It came out of your bag," pointed out Hermione.

"I was sorting through some old papers. It must have been my old flatmate's," shrugged Remus.

"Who was he?" asked Hermione, while Harry and Ron stared at her. What was so interesting about an old drawing?

"He was a she," said Remus shortly. "But she can't have drawn it – that's not her signature," he added, pointing to the scrawled initials in the bottom right hand corner of the sketch.

"So who is RAB?" asked Hermione, her face a picture of innocence as Harry and Ron gaped in surprise.

"No idea," said Remus, shaking his head. "She might have bought it from somewhere."

"I doubt that very much," said Faye, peering over his shoulder and grinning.

"Why's that?" questioned Remus, looking round at her.

"Because that-" she said, pointing to the figure furthest on the right, "-is you. And I'd guess that is your charming friend Black," she continued, indicating a hooded figure with a rose clutched in skeletal fingers.

"And they're Peter and James," said Remus suddenly, realisation dawning. Someone had drawn characteurs of the Marauders, but who amongst Katherine's friends had a name beginning with R? Robert Avery? But then what did the B stand for?

"You've really no idea who drew it?" asked Harry, leaning forward hopefully. If it was a sketch from Remus' school days, there was a good chance that the artist was the same RAB as the mysterious note writer.

"Must have been one of her friends," shrugged Remus.

"So it's a girl?" asked Ron, a slight note of disbelief in his voice.

"Not necessarily, she had a lot of friends. Well, acquaintances at any rate," amended Remus. Katherine had had few real friends and those she did have, she kept quiet about. Remus smiled at the trio and tucked the picture into his bag. "I'm afraid I haven't the faintest clue who drew it."

Hermione was about to ask something else but at that moment Mrs Weasley bustled into the room, hurrying them all off to the dinner table and Remus made his excuses and departed for home.

"Next time we see him, we'll ask where she is now," murmured Harry as they took their seats at the table.

Ron nodded and Hermione added in a low voice. "And what he's hiding." The two boys stared at her and she shrugged. "Didn't you notice? He never mentioned her name..."

x – X – x

**_5th November, 18 years previously_**

_"Bloody hell, Reg, what did you do? Dad's after your blood," said Katherine, staring into her friend's brown eyes, hoping to see some glimmer of justification. "He's sent Trix after you. _Trix_, Reg, your cousin. The deranged sadist."_

_Regulus lay down his quill, frowning slightly. "How long have we got?"_

_Katherine put her hands on his desk and leant forward, black hair falling around her face. "If we stay here, I'd say about thirty seconds. Trix likes to make an entrance, so she'll probably knock first." To her disbelief, Regulus simply nodded and headed towards a cabinet that stood against the wall. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but you seem to be taking this remarkably calmly," she remarked acridly, staring at him with eyes brighter than sapphires._

_"And why not? There's nothing I can do, and I knew this would happen eventually. I just hoped it wouldn't be this soon." Regulus looked up, his dark brown eyes sad, but calm. "Here, take this."_

_Katherine reached out and took the scrolls he was offering her, casting a quick glance over them. One word in particular caught her eye; indeed she would've had to have been blind to miss it since it was written in large letters at the top of the first scroll._

_**Horcruxes.**_

_Voldemort's horcruxes. Tom had split his soul. Well that explained a lot._

_"Damn, Reg. Where did you get this stuff?" she asked, looking up at him with wide eyes._

_"Asked around. Did a bit of digging," shrugged Regulus._

_"A bit of digging?" said Katherine, giving him one of her Looks. "Reg, this is a bloody excavation."_

_Far below a bell rang, announcing a visitor. Regulus grabbed her arm and looked earnestly at her. "Listen, I found one-"_

_"You _what_?" asked Katherine. She was starting to get the feeling she'd _seriously_ underestimated this man._

_"I found one," repeated Regulus, more urgently. "A locket, a golden locket, but I couldn't destroy it, so I hid it at home. Promise me you'll get it, Kat, promise me you'll destroy it. We can't let him rule the world – you've got to stop him. So promise me."_

_Katherine stared at him for a long moment, vaguely aware of footsteps echoing along the long corridor outside. Poor Regulus. She should have tried harder to save him from all this, but he probably wouldn't have let her. Besides, he'd discovered Voldemort's one weakness, the one shred of hope left for the world and he didn't care that it was costing him his life. There was no way she could refuse to help him now._

_"You always were brighter than you let on, Reg, and you never did belong in Slytherin." She gave him a small smile, and nodded. "I promise."_

_Regulus sighed with relief as she tucked his research safely inside her robes and drew out her wand to disapparate. Just as she was about to leave, he clutched at her arm again._

_"Tell Auriga I love her."_

_"I will," said Katherine softly._

_"And just one last thing, Kat," he added as the footsteps stopped outside the door and a hand knocked twice. Bellatrix had arrived. Katherine met his gaze and saw the look in his eyes. Fear and pleading, and a desperate wish to find peace at last - peace that Bella would make him wait to gain._

_The knock came again, louder._

_"Please?"_

_Half a minute later, Bella kicked the door in and stared in bewilderment at the body lying sprawled on the floor._

_It looked very much as though someone had beaten her to it..._

**x – X – x**

R&R!


	6. Little white lies

**Chapter 5 – Little white lies**

Remus was sitting by the fire in the Burrow, Tonks snuggled up against him, when Faye came down the stairs, suitcase in hand. He sat up abruptly, dislodging Tonks and staring at Faye.

"You're leaving already?" he asked, unable to conceal his disappointment.

Faye smiled slightly, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "I've got a job to go to," she said gently.

"But-" Remus hesitated, not sure how he intended to finish the sentence. "Can't it wait?" he asked eventually.

Faye shook her head. "Term starts in a few days. Look, I promise I'll visit as often as I can, ok?"

"Come over for Christmas, you mean?" asked Remus, a little reproachfully.

"Of course," agreed Faye. "But before then as well. I mean, I need to get settled in, but how about the weekend after next?"

Remus was quiet for a moment, searching her face for the glint of mischief he'd seen so often on Katherine's face. "We're not talking about the same thing, are we?" he asked slowly as Faye's lips twitched into a barely suppressed smirk.

"Faye's been offered a place at Hogwarts," grinned Tonks, her dark eyes glittering with impishly. "Didn't you know?"

Remus stared from Tonks to Faye in disbelief. "You're teaching at Hogwarts? Here? In Britain?"

Faye nodded. "I met Minerva McGonagall at the wedding and we got talking. She said there was a position going, and since I was thinking of moving over here anyway, it sounded perfect."

"What subject?" asked Remus, though he thought he already knew.

"Defence against the dark arts," answered Faye promptly, confirming Remus' fears.

"You do know the job's cursed, don't you?" said Tonks, eyes alight with mischief.

"That's just a rumour," said Faye laughing.

"It's not," said Ginny, emerging from the kitchen, Harry, Ron and Hermione following. "No one ever lasts more than a year."

"Yep," affirmed Ron. "So far we've had an evil minion sharing his body with You-Know-Who, a self obsessed lunatic who was utterly useless-"

"He was not," objected Hermione, blushing.

"Hermione, he couldn't even stun a pixie," pointed out Harry reasonably.

"Yeah, but-"

"And then we had Remus," cut in Ginny, before the minor disagreement could escalate into a row. "But he resigned," she added resentfully.

"Leaving us to the clutches of Lord Voldemort's most loyal follower," said Ron, ticking number four off on his fingers. "Then of course there was Umbridge – enough said. And last year..." He trailed off, shrugging. "Well, you see our point."

"Ok, say it is cursed," smiled Faye. "Who cursed it?"

There was silence for a moment, then: "Voldemort."

Everyone turned to stare at Harry, who shrugged. "He applied for the post once, and Dumbledore refused him. No one's managed to stay for more than a year since."

"Well," said Faye, after a while. "It's about time someone broke it, isn't it?"

"You think you can do that?" asked Harry sceptically.

"I can try," said Faye firmly. There was a long pause while Harry and Faye faced each other, eyes locked. Harry broke first.

To fill the awkward silence that followed, Ginny turned to Faye and held out her hand, revealing the white scrap of paper she was holding. "Mum found this in your jeans pocket – you remember she washed them after Fred and George spilt pumpkin juice over you? I'm afraid the ink's probably run."

Faye took the paper, frowning. She didn't remember anyone giving her a note. She unfolded it with difficulty as the water had glued it together, and smoothed it out. "Oh, it's from the flat," she said without thinking. "And don't worry, it's written in, well, I don't know, but it hasn't run."

Remus stood up immediately, crossing the room to look at it. "Biro."

"What?" asked Faye, staring at him.

"It's written in ballpoint pen – the ink doesn't run as easily," explained Remus. "Katherine didn't use quills unless she had to."

"Who's Katherine?" asked Harry quickly, jumping at the opportunity to ask about Remus' mysterious ex-flat mate.

"She used to live with me," said Remus absently, though his eyes flickered briefly to the form of Tonks on the sofa who had raised her eyebrows. "Um, we lived next door to each other when we were kids," he added as Faye rolled her eyes. "Katherine's an old friend. Very old. Well, obviously the same age as me, but-"

"I'd give you a hand to dig that hole, but you seem to be managing just fine on your own," said Faye, conveniently cutting off Remus' babble. She smiled sweetly at him as he glared at her, then turned to Tonks. "She was like a sister to him. Anything more than friendship would practically be incest."

"Wasn't she your cousin?" asked Hermione slowly, thinking back to the day Faye had arrived and the twins' reenactment of Moody's spectacular flying tackle. Faye looked at her in surprise, then nodded, before looking quickly back at the note. The trio exchanged significant looks; Faye seemed to be strangely uncomfortable that they'd figured this out.

"Does anyone know what-" frowned Faye, peering at the paper, "-_B of E_ is?"

"What?"

"B of E," repeated Faye. "That's what it says. B of E, then V42."

"C of E stands for Church of England," said Hermione promptly. "So B of E might be...Bank of England?"

Remus and Faye looked at each other. The Bank of England? What would Katherine want with the Bank of England? All her money was in Gringotts, wasn't it?

"That'd make sense," volunteered Tonks, from her seat by the fire. "V42 is Vault 42, right? So that only leaves one question."

Remus nodded grimly, looking down at his friend's familiar handwriting. "Where's the key?"

x – X – x

Bella looked up sharply, acutely aware that someone was staring at her. Her dark eyes swept the room and landed on Severus, who was sitting wreathed in shadow in one corner. He raised his glass in mock toast and smiled grimly.

"What is your problem, Snape?" she asked loudly. The others in the room turned to look at her, then over at Severus, preparing for the customary argument that took place whenever Severus and Bella were in the same room for too long.

"Nothing at all, dear Bella," said Snape silkily. "I was just entertaining a rather amusing thought."

"That concerned myself?" asked Bella, a knife edge in her voice.

"Riddle, actually," said Severus, leaning back in his chair so that his eyes fell into shadow. "McKenzie was saying just the other day that they'd seen someone who was the spitting image of her not too far from here."

In his seat by the fire, Daemon smiled to himself. It was a mark of how skilled a liar Severus had become that he could turn 'France, two decades ago' into 'not too far from here' and make it sound entirely believable.

Bella laughed, though Daemon could have sworn that she'd tensed for a moment.

"Katherine's dead, Severus. She did what she came to do and she died," said Bella lightly, shaking her head. "It's high time you came to terms with that."

"She didn't," said the low voice of Alecto.

"Didn't what?" asked Bella acridly.

"Didn't finish what she started," said Alecto quietly. "Rosier went and Wilkes went, but you Bella, you're still here."

There was a long pause, then Lucius chuckled. "You forgot Stone."

Alecto looked up at him blankly. "Stone?"

"Ryan Stone," smiled Lucius. "He went too."

"Where did he go?" asked Alecto, arching an eyebrow.

"Knowing Riddle, to seven kinds of hell," said Daemon, smirking as he stirred the fire with a poker. "But Bella's right, Snape," he added, glancing up at Severus, reflected flames dancing in his eyes. "Riddle's long gone."

Severus met his gaze, smiling dangerously. "So it would seem."

"What's that's supposed to mean?" asked Bella, her dark eyes flickering between the two men.

Severus glanced up at her slyly. "Didn't you hear, Bella? Kensington found her cell. It's empty."

"You're lying," said Bella softly, her voice dangerously soft. "Katherine's dead. Everyone knows that. Azkaban makes you see things..."

From his chair by the fire, Daemon gave her an odd look. "What was that last one?"

Bella shook her head violently. "Nothing. It was nothing. She wasn't real."

There was quiet for a moment, then Severus laughed, low and sinister. "She came to visit you, didn't she? After she broke out. And you thought she was an illusion."

"No!" snarled Bella, the madness that was so close to the surface these days rising in an instant. "I didn't see anything. I don't remember anything. She wasn't there."

"What didn't she say?" asked Daemon softly, smiling grimly.

"Nothing! Because she wasn't there! It was just a dream!" screeched Bella, glowering at Daemon.

"Of course, Trix," agreed Severus amiably. "Just a trick of the light."

"That's right," breathed Bella, the anger subsiding. "Just a trick of the light."

Severus stood up, setting his glass down on the table by his chair and was about to leave the room, when he paused suddenly, as though a thought had just occurred to him. "Lucius, refresh my memory will you. Dementors make you relive what, exactly?"

Lucius looked up at him, then at Bella, his grey eyes glinting. "The worst moments of your life, Severus."

"Ah. I suspected as much," nodded Severus, pulling the door open. "Good day to you all."

The door just had time to swing closed behind him before Bella erupted from her chair and hauled it open again, her face a mask of fury. Severus was at the bottom of the stairs, looking curiously at a hat stand. He turned when he heard the door open and stared at her with his cold black eyes.

"Is something the matter?" he asked, raising a haughty eyebrow.

"You tricked me," hissed Bella, dark eyes flashing with rage.

"I did? When was this?"

"Just now. In here," growled Bella, jabbing a trembling finger at the room behind her.

Severus stared at her disdainfully. "Bella what _are_ you going on about?"

Bella gaped at him in disbelief. "Do you seriously expect me to believe you _don't know_?"

"Bella, I have spent the past hour upstairs discussing matters of importance with the Dark Lord. I cannot be in two places at once and since I am positive I was upstairs until just recently, I was most certainly not devoting my time to harassing you, although I must say would gladly shake the hand of whoever did, since they appear to have done an excellent job."

"But who would impersonate you?" asked Bella, eyeing Severus suspiciously. "They'd need to brew Polyjuice and frankly Snape, nothing on earth would induce me to drink _your_ hair."

"It's a mystery," said Severus quietly, his dark eyes glimmering with amusement. Bella frowned, then turned and retreated into the study, keeping a cautious eye on Severus who stared back calmly. When the door had clicked shut, Severus turned his head and focused on the black hat stand that had mysteriously appeared in the hall. "You've got some nerve, Riddle," he said softly.

The stand was still for a moment, then the outline shimmered and reformed into the shape of Katherine, sitting cross-legged on the floor. She did not look amused.

"Why did you do it?" she asked, blue eyes boring into his.

"Do what?"

"Kill him."

"This really isn't the right time-"

"It never will be," said Katherine shortly, standing up. "See, I can understand you telling Dad the prophecy. I can even understand you being a double agent and betraying the Order, but what I don't get is why you murdered Dumbledore. All he did was trust you."

"He was a fool," said Snape coldly. "You always said so."

"Yes, but I didn't try to _kill_ him," growled Katherine, stepping closer to Severus so their faces were inches apart. "I didn't try to destroy the last chance we ever had – the last chance Remus had."

"That's what its all about, isn't it, Riddle?" Severus shook his head in disgust. "It always comes down that bloody werewolf. Are you in love with him or something? Is that why you've only ever been with two boys? Because you were waiting for him to ask you out?"

"Don't be ridiculous," said Katherine coldly, her eyes blazing dangerously.

"So you're not in love with him?" asked Severus in a deceptively pleasant tone of voice. "Oh no, that's right. You're in love with his best friend. The ever wonderful Sirius Black. Tell me, how's that working out for you?"

"You bastard," whispered Katherine, ignoring the threats of tears welling up in her eyes. "You complete bastard. You never got it did you, Severus?"

"Got _what_?" inquired Snape, staring impassively at her.

"Do you honestly think I meant to fall for Sirius?" asked Katherine, almost imploringly.

"You agreed to go out with him, didn't you?"

"Only because you never asked," growled Katherine, eyes suddenly fierce at his bewildered expression. "Did you think I was going to wait around forever?"

"No." Severus shook his head, laughing slightly, though there was little humour in the situation. "No, no, no, this is all wrong. _You _walked out on _me_, Riddle. Remember? You thought I'd joined. You didn't let me explain, and you went running off into Black's open arms."

"And you didn't come after me," snarled Katherine, glaring up at him. "I gave you a month to try and explain, but you just buried yourself in books and avoided me. I didn't even speak to Sirius until after the exams, so don't play the victim Severus. It doesn't suit you."

There was silence for a moment while they stood rooted to the spot, eyes locked.

"You broke my heart," said Severus tonelessly, gazing at her, not knowing what else to say.

"Fair's fair," murmured Katherine. "You broke mine."

The floorboards overhead creaked and Severus looked up sharply, but saw no one. He shook his head and turned back to Katherine, only to find an empty patch of air. He sighed heavily and rubbed his eyes. He hated it when she did that. He was never sure whether she'd really been there or not.

He ran quickly over their conversation in his head. Probably not there, he decided. Especially not that last bit. She'd never given any indication of liking him before, had she? Or had she?

Severus pulled his travelling cloak off the hook and put it on, not really concentrating on what he was doing. His mind was on his seventh year in Hogwarts, flipping through the vague memories in an attempt to find anything that would convince him that he wasn't going mad.

A lot of things had happened that year, some of which he'd only discovered years afterwards. The fact that Evan Rosier had been the one who killed Fiona Parkinson, for instance. That had surprised him. He'd always presumed that it had been Katherine; she'd always looked uncomfortable whenever the subject was brought up.

And then there was the entire Reuben affair. He wondered vaguely if she knew about Greyback. Then again, he was still alive by all accounts, so presumably not. Probably best not to be near her when she did find out. You never could tell how Katherine was going to react about things that hit that close to home.

He opened the door that lead out into the grounds surrounding the manor house and began the long walk to the boundaries of the anti-apparation wards. There were only two events that he'd witnessed Katherine discover.

The first was her discovery of her father. True, he hadn't know this at the time but he remembered the change in her personality all too well. She'd gone from being an quiet, reserved girl to a violent, determined witch. And he'd helped her.

It was that morning in the library in their fifth year, when she'd demanded his help then hexed him when he'd refused. That was where it had all started. He'd become intrigued by her then, and by the end of the year, he'd have done just about anything for her. The fifteen year old girl with jet black hair and eyes so blue it was alarming. What he'd never realised was that she'd felt the same way.

He sighed, tugging his cloak more firmly over his shoulders. It was foolish to dwell on the past and yet somehow he couldn't stop himself. So, the second time...

The second time Katherine had changed was when she'd found her mother. Well, not exactly _found_ her as such, more like found out who she was. He remembered that like it was yesterday; most probably because she'd unintentionally spent the night in his dormitory. The change was so slight as to be almost non-existent, but it was there. From that day on, Katherine had an escape route. Presuming Arcadia Belle was still alive, of course.

Severus frowned slightly, the name ringing faint alarm bells in his head. He'd heard that name recently, he was sure of it. What's more, he was positive that the name had seemed familiar back then too. Now when was it? Someone had been talking about...Katherine? Was that it? But surely no one knew-

He stopped, the memory surfacing suddenly, like a lost ship appearing over the horizon. James McKenzie. He'd said there was a girl who looked like Katherine at Beauxbaton. A girl called Faye Belle – Professor Belle's daughter...

He frowned deeply, pondering what to do with this information.

_Keep quiet, _whispered the small voice at the back of his mind._ Keep your mouth shut and see what happens. If all else fails, tell Katherine. She has a way of sorting these things out. You probably don't like the people she'd kill, anyway..._


	7. End of the line

**Chapter 6 – End of the line**

A man sat in the shade of a sun parasol outside a small café in Diagon Alley. The lines on his face betrayed his age, which was sixty, give or take a few years. It was strange how he'd never realised he was growing older. Over a decade of peace had made him lax and now time was catching up with him.

He looked up cautiously, brown eyes flickering from one badly concealed recruit to another. Over forty years of loyal service, and this was how Lord Riddle repaid him. An ambush that a five year old could have spotted. He sighed, and returned to scribbling on the napkin that a thoughtful waitress had laid out for him.

Of course he'd always known that Riddle would finish him off in the end, but he'd hoped that he'd at least have the decency to send someone good to do it. Someone like Kensington or Snape, hell, even Rabastan Lestrange would have done. Not...well, he didn't even know the names of these people, which just went to prove his point. They were _new_; half of them couldn't even cast the Dark Mark properly.

He shook his head and smiled slightly, pocketing his pen and gazing bemusedly at the address he'd written on the serviette. He still wasn't sure if the rumours were true, but he had to try, and this was his last chance.

He looked up again and spotted the group of teenagers emerging from the new wizarding joke shop situated a little further along the road. It was a long shot, but it was the best chance he was going to get.

And she'd go after him, wouldn't she? She was bound to be curious at least. Or even if she wasn't, the boy would look for her when word got out. She'd been engaged to his godfather after all, and the boy-who-just-wouldn't-die would want answers.

He tossed a few sickles onto the table to cover the bill and stood up, keeping the folded napkin enclosed in his fist. Now or never...

x – X – x

"I don't know where those two get their ideas from," said Ron, fiddling with the latest gadget from his brothers' shop. "But I wish they'd tell me- Ow!" He pulled his hand back sharply, sucking at his finger. "How d'you make this thing work?"

"Give it here," sighed Hermione, taking the small sphere out of Ron's hands and tapping it smartly with her wand. Harry smirked at his two best friends and glanced up the street, frowning at the crowd around Flourish and Blotts. Diagon Alley wasn't as busy as it had been before the war started, but that only made the bustling throng of people more conspicuous.

Of course, the fact that the narrow street was not as densely populated as normal also meant that he was able to spot the man hurrying towards him while he was still a considerable distance away. He nudged Ron who had retrieved the ball like gadget from Hermione and was tinkering with it again.

"What?" asked Ron, glancing up as the strange man broke into a run. Harry was about to suggest that they head back into the shop for safety when a jet of green light illuminated the shadows on the opposite side of the alley, bounced off a hastily contrived shield charm and sunk into a girl on the other side of the street who collapsed immediately.

A little way down the street, another burst of green light erupted from a wand, but this one rose into the sky, twisting itself into the glowing outline of a skull and snake, visible even against the bright blue of the sky.

Harry was vaguely aware of someone screaming and then the entire street was in chaos. Ron dropped the sphere, which exploded with a loud bang and a flash of blinding white light. He grabbed Hermione's hand and pulled her towards the shop door which had been thrown open by Fred, who was standing there, wand in hand.

"Get inside, quickly!" he yelled above the clamour of frightened voices. Ron pushed Hermione in front of him and hurried through the door. Harry was right behind him, but before he could follow, someone grabbed his wrist and thrust something into his hand.

It was the man who'd been heading for him. Close to, he could see that the man was older than he'd thought, with lines on what had probably once been a rather handsome face and hair so blond as to be almost white. His eyes were deep brown and looked almost imploring up at Harry.

"Give it to Riddle," he said, his voice low and urgent. "Tell her she was right and that I'm sor-" He broke off abruptly, expression frozen mid sentence and at the same time, Harry felt someone grab the back of his jumper and yank him backwards, almost strangling him in the process. The man toppled over and fell with a sickening thud onto the cobbles as Harry was hauled bodily inside the Weasley Twins' shop.

Fred, or possibly George, Harry couldn't tell, slammed the door shut and slid the bolt firmly across before casting the colloportus charm.

"What were you doing just standing there?" asked Ron, staring at him. Harry noticed that he had not yet released Hermione's hand. "They were Death Eaters!"

"It wasn't my fault," objected Harry, "That man caught my arm."

"You should have jinxed him," said Fred firmly, ushering them towards the large fireplace in the back room.

"No, he wasn't trying to hurt me," said Harry, watching the last few of Fred and George's customers Floo out of the shop. Every public building had to have one way fireplaces now, under a new legislation drawn up by the government. An emergency escape route connected to the Floo network, but monitored by Aurors. You could only Floo out of civic buildings, not in, unless you had a special pass issued by the government, although after a lot of negotiation, shop keepers had been allowed to carry restricted passes that allowed them to Floo into their own shop.

"Harry, people were firing Unforgivables left, right and center!" exclaimed Hermione, face pale. "You could have been hit!"

"If that man hadn't been standing in front of you, you would have been," said George, pulling the top off a new jar of Floo powder.

"No I wouldn't - they weren't aiming for me," said Harry patiently. "They were aiming for _him_."

Fred gave him a sceptical look as George passed him the Floo powder. "Why would they do that?"

"I don't know," admitted Harry. "But then why would they attack me in broad daylight, for everyone to see?"

"Because you weren't expecting it?" suggested Hermione, her fingers clutching Ron's hand unconsciously.

"We can discuss this later," said George, looking nervously back at the door of the shop. "Right now, the best thing we can do is get home."

The others nodded and one by one, Flooed back to the Burrow.

x – X – x

In a small house in Essex, the flames of fireplace flared green. A man with short brown hair and hazel eyes stepped out and nearly stumbled back into the fire at the sight of the woman curled up on the sofa.

"I wish you wouldn't do that," he sighed, stamping on the hem of his robes to put out the flames.

Katherine glanced up from her book and grinned at him. "Good afternoon to you to, Daemon."

Daemon scowled at her and threw his cloak on a chair. "Why exactly is it good?"

"I don't know, you tell me," said Katherine, putting her book down and gazing serenely over at him.

"Well, there's one less witch in the world. One less wizard, come to that," answered Daemon, pouring himself a whisky.

"Isn't it a bit early to start drinking?" asked Katherine, raising an eyebrow.

"The wizard was Kelly Hunt."

Katherine stared at him, then walked over and took the glass he offered her. Death Eaters killing Death Eaters. Things must be bad.

"D'you know why?" she asked after a while as he refilled her glass for the second time.

"No," said Daemon shortly. "I was in Knockturn Alley at the time. I think it was Crawford and Giles, and a few of their friends." Katherine stared blankly at him. "They're new," he explained, catching her expression.

Katherine frowned. She didn't like not knowing who was who. It made things dangerous when you didn't know which side people were on.

"Who was the girl?" she asked, gazing pensively into her glass.

"No idea. Looked about eighteen, probably just left Hogwarts." He sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"Is Theodore going back?" asked Katherine softly, not looking at him.

Daemon shrugged. "Ask his mother. She never tells me anything."

Katherine gave him a sideways look and asked curiously, "Have you two actually broken up, or what?"

"She moved out," said Daemon sullenly. "And took Theo with her. Can't remember ever making it official."

"So you're still married?"

"Technically," muttered Daemon. "But considering the fact that we haven't spoken more than two words to each other for the past five or six years, we might as well be strangers."

"What about your son?"

Daemon frowned, avoiding her questioning gaze. "I tried writing, but he never replied."

There was an uncomfortable silence, then Katherine set down her empty glass. "I should get going. I've got some things to do."

"Sure, oh and try to avoid any other DE's, will you? Severus let slip to Bella that you might still be around and well, you know how fast rumour spreads. If Bella was on the brink before this, she's practically hurling herself off it now."

Katherine smiled wickedly as she pulled on her cloak. "I'll be sure to bear that in mind."

x – X – x

When the trio finally managed to escape the clutches of Mrs Weasley, who was alternating between fretting and scolding them, they hurried upstairs to the relative safety of Ron's room. Hermione shut the door behind them and cast an Imperturbable charm on it.

"Well?" she asked, looking expectantly at Harry. Ron glanced from one to the other with a confused expression.

"Well what?" he asked, staring at Harry.

"Harry was holding something when Fred dragged him inside," said Hermione, sitting down next to Ron.

"The blond man gave it to me," said Harry, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the soft fabric.

"It's a napkin," said Ron, looking dubiously at it.

"There's an address written on it," said Harry, examining the cramped writing.

"Did he say what it was for?" asked Hermione hopefully. "Maybe that's why people were trying to kill him - because he knew something he shouldn't?"

Harry frowned, sitting down on his makeshift bed. "He told me to give it to Riddle," he mused quietly. Ron's eyes widened and Hermione gasped.

"To Vol-?" she began, but Harry shook his head.

"No, see that's the _really_ weird thing," he said, looking up at them, a trace of dry amusement in his voice. "He said: 'give it to Riddle. _Tell her she was right_.'"

x – X – x

Narcissa Malfoy pushed open the tall oak doors that marked the entrance to the Malfoy library and stopped just inside. She hesitated, then turned her head to the right and narrowed her eyes at the person lounging against the wall, reading a book.

"What are you doing here, Riddle? she asked acidly. "I thought I told you to stay away."

"You did," agreed Katherine shutting her book and smiling pleasantly up at Narcissa.

"And?"

"And I ignored you. Obviously."

Narcissa scowled at her and walked to the center of the room, sitting at the large table that Lucius had commissioned the year before last.

"What do you want, Riddle?" she asked wearily.

"Answers," said Katherine, tossing her book on the table and pulling up another chair. "Like, why are men so dmn stubborn and stupid?"

"I take it you've been to see Severus, then? I told you not to," said Narcissa calmly, picking up Katherine's book with slender fingers. "What's this?"

"A book."

Narcissa gave her junior an appraising look. "I can see that. What language?"

"Greek," said Katherine flatly.

"It's not written in the Greek alphabet," pointed out Narcissa.

"It's new age Greek," said Katherine, her expression unreadable.

"Noisull id nanoit peced," read Narcissa carefully. "Doesn't sound like any language I've ever heard."

"Do you know every language in the world?"

"No, but-"

"Well that would be why you haven't heard it then," said Katherine with a dangerous smile.

"Fine. Keep your little secrets if it makes you happy, Riddle," conceded Narcissa. "Just don't expect me to divulge mine."

"Not even why you made Severus take the Unbreakable Vow?" asked Katherine, gazing intently at the stately woman in front of her.

Narcissa held her gaze steadily. "The Dark Lord was trying to get Draco killed."

"Draco? Ah yes, your son."

"Yes, my son. Do you have children, Riddle?" asked Narcissa, a very slight tremor in her voice.

"No."

"Then you can't possibly understand what I'm going through."

Katherine looked away, fiddling with her ring idly. "He's not Severus' responsibility."

"Who else was I supposed to turn to?" asked Narcissa sharply. "Lucius was in Azkaban-"

"Dumbledore," said Katherine quietly.

"That muggle loving fo-?"

"He was a good man," cut in Katherine angrily, looking at her, eyes blazing. "And a dmn good wizard. What chance do we stand now? Tom's won. There's no one left to defy him - the Ministry's a shambles, the wizarding world's a mess and Tom's picking off the strongest people one by one. We're screwed, Cissa. So Draco was in danger, so what? How many other children are going to die because of what you did? Everyone's got parents."

"And what makes them any more important than my son?" hissed Narcissa.

"_They're_ innocent," snarled Katherine, glaring at her.

"So were the people you killed," retorted Narcissa.

"No they weren't," said Katherine fiercely. "I killed Aurors who were trying to kill _me_, I killed corrupt government officials who were making people's life hell, I killed Death Eaters who were trying to hurt my friends. No one I killed was ever innocent."

Narcissa arched an eyebrow and gazed malignantly at her. "What about Regulus?"

Katherine's eyes narrowed. "What about him?"

"What did he do wrong?" asked Narcissa pleasantly.

Katherine shrugged. "Ask Bella. She killed him."

"No she didn't. You did," said Narcissa softly.

"Bella told Dad she did," objected Katherine guardedly.

"She told the Dark Lord that he was dead. I'm her sister; she told _me_ he was already dead when she found him."

"Maybe he had a heart attack," offered Katherine.

"Maybe you killed him," suggested Narcissa, smiling nastily.

Katherine smiled back grimly. "Maybe he was guilty."

"Of what?"

Katherine smiled sweetly and picked up her book. "Wouldn't you like to know."

Narcissa opened her mouth to reply but it was too late; Katherine had already disappeared. She frowned and scribbled down the title of the book she'd been holding. _New age Greek. Of course, Riddle..._

x – X – x

Hermione and Ron stared at Harry in stunned silence. "Are you _sure_?"

"I know what I heard," said Harry firmly.

"But..._his_ mother is dead," said Ron nervously.

"She wasn't called Riddle, either," remarked Harry. "She never married."

"Why did the man give it to you?" asked Hermione thoughtfully. "I mean, I know you're a national hero and everything, but that doesn't mean you know everyone."

"He knew he was going to die," said Harry, looking pensively at the address. "That's why he started running before those Death Eaters started shooting Unforgivables at him."

"Where is the address? Could we go and see what's there?" asked Hermione hopefully.

Harry shook his head. "Not unless you've got family or something we could stay with half way across the world."

"What?" asked Ron, looking puzzled.

"Read it." Harry threw the napkin to him. "Fairymeade Station, Jericho Qld 4726, Australia. So, any ideas...?"

x – X – x

Nicola Meliflua heard the key turn in the lock of the door and stood up, arms folded.

"What the hell d'you think you're doing, Riddle?" she asked pointedly. A woman with curly auburn hair and deep green eyes stared at her, hand still on the door knob.

"Nicki?"

Nicola rolled her eyes and grabbed her friend's wrist. "Come on."

"Where are we going?" asked Katherine, as Nicola picked up her unopened suitcase and kicked the door shut.

"To my place. I've got a spare bedroom and you can't keep running across the country like this," said Nicola firmly, her brown eyes determined.

"But-"

"No buts. You don't have a choice in the matter, ok?"

Katherine managed to pull her hand away and looked bemusedly at her old friend. "Why are you doing this?"

Nicola glanced up at her, brown eyes serious. "Because I know what it feels like to lose a friend once. I don't want to have to do it again."

Katherine gazed at her for a moment, then looked away. Nicola smiled gently and tilted her head to look at the book Katherine was carrying.

"Noisull id nanoit peced," she read slowly. "Deception and illusion. I wouldn't have thought you'd need to read a book on that, Kat. Shouldn't you be the one writing it?"

Katherine glanced up at her in surprise. Nicola laughed, and handed her a portkey. "I'm head secretary for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. I'm used to cracking codes. You weren't even trying with that one."

Katherine grinned and took the portkey. "I think you've been holding out on me, Nic."

"Yeah, well, keep it to yourself. Men don't like women to be more intelligent that they are," replied Nicki, smiling wickedly. "Which is why you and Sirius were never going to work."

Katherine arched an eyebrow. "What would you have done?"

"Oh Sirius, definitely," said Nicola quickly.

"I said what, not who," said Katherine, rolling her eyes.

Nicola grinned. "I know. I'd choose Black, but only because you'd kill me if I said Severus because let's be honest, Kat - you and Snape are soulmates."

"Tell him that," murmured Katherine.

Nicola met her gaze and smiled faintly. "I did. The day you went to Azkaban."

"What did he say?"

Nicola smirked and tapped the portkey to activate it. "He said to tell you that."


	8. Three lefts make a right

**Chapter 7 – Three lefts make a right**

Katherine woke that morning in a soft bed for the first time in nearly twenty years. She frowned at the ceiling, running through the past twenty four hours in her head. She'd seen Daemon and Narcissa, and then Nicki had turned up in her hotel room. Now that was strange.

She sighed and crawled out of her warm bed, pulling on a black silk dressing gown before wandering out into the hall and heading downstairs. Nicki was in the kitchen, fully dressed and half way through a mug of coffee. She raised an amused eyebrow at Katherine as she entered.

"I know the food is awful in Azkaban, but you're never going to make me believe that that shirt once fitted you," she grinned as Katherine poured herself a glass of milk and sat down, rubbing her eyes.

"It was Sirius'," she muttered, wrapping her dressing gown around herself defensively.

Nicki frowned slightly. "You went back to your flat?"

"No, I went to his," said Katherine, yawning. "I'm not that stupid."

Nicki gave her friend a curious look. "Nobody's living in your old flat, you know. Lupin moved out after you went to prison."

Katherine looked up sharply. "What? Why?"

"Don't know. You'd have to ask him that," shrugged Nicki, glancing at Katherine's hands which were clasping her glass; the knuckles had gone white. "Something wrong?"

"Remus is ok?" asked Katherine, voice barely above a whisper.

"Aside from turning into a werewolf once a month, you mean?" asked Nicki, her brown eyes appraising. "Did you know about?"

"Of course I did," said Katherine dismissively. "Is he alright?"

Nicki gave her friend a sceptical look. "You mean you haven't tracked him down? He's meant to be your best friend, Katherine."

"I know," said Katherine quietly. "I didn't want to find out he was dead."

"Well he's not," said Nicki. "But seeing as two of his best friends have been murdered, one's turned traitor and the fourth's on the run from the Ministry of Magic, I wouldn't say he was doing fantastically well. Oh yes, and he has no job, no money and as far as I can tell, no place to live, although there is a rumour going round the department that he's hooked up with some Auror half his age..."

"Anyone trying to kill him?" asked Katherine, ignoring Nicki's remarks.

"Apart from Umbridge? Don't think so."

"Who's Umbridge?" frowned Katherine, fingering the wand stuck into her dressing gown belt idly.

"Some Ministry official who has it in for half-breeds. I wouldn't worry about her though; she's in Saint Mungo's at present," smirked Nicki, sipping her coffee.

"How dreadful," said Katherine unsympathetically. "What happened?"

"Had a run in with some centaurs," said Nicki, now grinning. "I believe she insinuated that they were subhuman."

Katherine laughed for what felt like the first time in ages. "She deserves what she got then." The pair were silent for a while, then Katherine asked slowly. "How'd you know Remus is a werewolf?"

"It was in the paper," shrugged Nicki. "He was teaching at Hogwarts and someone let it slip. He resigned immediately, of course."

"Who was it?" scowled Katherine.

"I don't know."

"Yeah, you do."

"I don't," reiterated Nicki calmly. "But I would dearly like to know who told _The Daily Prophet_ about this latest escapade."

Katherine stared at her, utterly nonplussed, until Nicki slid the morning paper across the desk towards her. She looked down at it and raised her eyebrows. _Oh dear. Tom was not going to be happy about this..._

x – X – x

Harry and Ron awoke to the crash of crockery from downstairs. Harry fumbled for his glasses and blinked at Ron, who was sitting bolt upright in bed. A second later, they were both running downstairs, towards the source of the commotion.

"What's wrong?" yelled Ron as they rounded the last corner to see Mrs Weasley being helped into a chair by her husband. The contents of the breakfast tray, which Mrs Weasley had obviously been holding moments before, were littering the red tiled floor, and sitting innocuously on the kitchen table was a copy of _The Daily Prophet_.

"I never would have thought..." Mrs Weasley was muttering faintly. "She seemed so nice..."

Harry and Ron exchanged puzzled looks as Hermione appeared behind them, face pale, her bushy hair unbrushed.

"What's going on?" she asked softly, looking worriedly at Mrs Weasley. Harry shrugged as Ron took the paper from the table and looked at it in surprise.

"What is it?" asked Harry. Ron held up the paper mutely, so they could see.

Under a large black print title of **You-Know-Who's Newest Threat** was a large black and white photograph of Fleur's professor...

x – X – x

"_'Back from the dead'_, Kat," quoted Nicki, frowning deeply. "_What the Ministry doesn't want you to know._"

"Who told them?" asked Katherine quietly, gazing at the old black and white photograph, then down at the article beneath it.

"Well who knows about you?" asked Nicki, tapping her manicured nails on the table top.

"Nott, Snape, Malfoy-" murmured Katherine, then scowled suddenly. "Hey! They got my name wrong!"

"No they didn't," said Nicki. "It says Archer on your birth certificate."

"But I changed it," argued Katherine, looking over at her. "It says Riddle on all my school certificates."

Nicki frowned. "You're sure?"

"Course I'm sure," snapped Katherine, scanning the article for the writer's name. "Ah ha, Rita bloody Skeeter. I might have known. At least no one's told her about Remus."

"Or Sirius?"

"No one knew about Sirius," said Katherine firmly. "D'you think I would have told any of our lot I was getting engaged to a Gryffindor?"

Nicki blinked. "What?"

Katherine glanced up, realising her mistake too late. "Nothing," she managed, unconvincingly.

"_Engaged?_ Katherine have you gone mental? You agreed to _marry_ him?" asked Nicki incredulously.

"Does it matter?" asked Katherine, burying herself behind the paper. "He's dead now, remember?"

"Just like you are?"

"I didn't die," said Katherine resolutely.

"Well neither did he, technically," pointed out Nicki.

Katherine peered over the top of the paper at her. "He's staying dead."

Nicki sighed and drained her coffee. "What are you going to do?"

"About this, you mean?" asked Katherine, indicating the paper.

"Yes."

Katherine shrugged. "Nothing. Tom always makes the first move. All I have to do is wait."

x – X – x

The trio had retreated to the lounge while Mr Weasley attempted to calm his wife down, taking the paper with them.

"Look, this doesn't make sense," said Hermione eventually as Crookshanks jumped onto her lap. "Remus knows Faye and Fleur knows Faye – she's been taught by her for the past few years; it can't be the same person. This Katherine Archer has been in Azkaban until just recently."

"Moody thought it was her," said Ron gruffly. "Remember Fred and George's impression of him?"

"And Faye looked really unsettled when we pointed out that Katherine was her cousin," added Harry.

"That was a different Katherine," said Hermione dismissively, then stopped, looking uneasily at the other two. "It _was_ a different Katherine, wasn't it?"

"Must be," said Ron eventually. "Remus is in the Order. He wouldn't have shared a flat with a Death Eater."

"Especially not this one," said Hermione, though she sounded less than confident. Harry and Ron glanced at her curiously. "Didn't you two read the article? She tried to kill Harry's parents."

x – X – x

"_You-Know-Who's Newest Threat,_" read Ophelia Corbelle, glancing across the room at her cousin. "Now that's an interesting headline. Who exactly is she threatening, I wonder? The helpless public or the Lord of Darkness himself?"

Severus Snape frowned at his younger cousin and shut the book he'd been reading. "You shouldn't talk like that. If the Dark Lord-"

"Have you seen her recently?" interrupted Ophelia, smiling sweetly at him.

"She's been in Azkaban-"

"You're not answering my question," said Ophelia gently, her deep green eyes glittering playfully. "So I'll take that as a yes."

"When's your husband getting back?" asked Severus, forcedly changing the subject.

"Daniel's staying at work late. He's working on an important case," said Ophelia, smiling faintly.

"Really? What's it about?" asked Severus politely.

"He didn't say," said Ophelia studying him for a moment before adding softly: "It doesn't actually exist, Severus."

Severus took a while to process this comment, then asked: "What?"

Ophelia shrugged, picking up the newspaper again. "He's got a new secretary."

Severus would have pressed the matter, but at that moment, the Dark Mark flared black on his arm and he stood up. "I have to go. Remember-"

Ophelia nodded, green eyes glistening slightly. "If anyone asks, I haven't seen you. I remember."

x – X – x

Nicola hurried out of the study as Katherine came down the stairs again, this time fully dressed in black jeans and a black blouse.

"There is such a thing as trying _too_ hard to be inconspicuous," she remarked, pulling on her travelling cloak. Katherine pulled a face at her and concentrated on gathering her hair into a ponytail. "Oh very mature," grinned Nicki. "Are you going out?"

"Might do-" Katherine broke off with a sharp intake of breath.

"You ok?" asked Nicki, eyeing her worriedly.

"Fine."

"What was that then?"

Katherine smiled ruefully, rubbing her left arm. "Tom - making his first move."

Nicki glanced at her watch, conscious of the fact that she'd be late if she stalled much longer. "You will be alright, won't you?"

"Of course," said Katherine, fiddling with her necklace. "Why wouldn't I be? My father's a demented megalomaniac who's trying to take over the world, and the only chance of stopping him lies with an seventeen year old kid with a hero complex. Life's just super, thanks."

Nicki gave her friend a stern look. "Who have you been talking to?"

"Friends. People who don't want to kill me. Well, people who _didn't_ kill me, at any rate," she amended, looking thoughtful. "Probably _wanted_ to kill me-"

"Katherine, do you remember what you were like at seventeen?" cut in Nicki. She really was going to be late now.

"Vaguely..."

"Potter's managed to escape your father at least four times now," said Nicki gently. "That's more than you ever did."

"Fluke," said Katherine, though Nicki heard the doubt in her voice.

"Four times?"

"Yes."

Nicki shrugged, snatching her bag from the table in the hall. "Well his luck's held out so far. Why would it fail now? Besides," Nicki added, as Katherine still looked doubtful. "Lupin thinks very highly of him. Or so I'm told. Maybe you should pay him a visit."

"Who? Potter or Remus?"

"Lupin. I very much doubt that Potter will be too kindly disposed towards you," said Nicki, pulling out her wand to disapparate. "Not after that article."

Katherine frowned as her friend disappeared and wandered into the kitchen, retrieving the paper from the counter. She scanned it quickly and realised what Nicki had meant. _Tried to kill them,_ she thought despairingly, tossing the paper back down. _As if anyone I ever **tried** to kill didn't die..._

x – X – x

In the dark chamber, a circle of black figures stood silently in a ring, surrounding the tall skeletal man with skin paler than moonlight and eyes that gleamed blood red in the torchlight.

Shadowed eyes sought out familiar faces amongst their number, trying to guess who knew what and how much. A few frightened faces stared straight ahead, wondering how they'd come to be in this situation. The Dark Lord glared round at them all, old and young alike and uttered two words in a voice that sounded more reptilian than human:

_"Find her."_

x – X – x

Nicola Meliflua looked up from her desk as Jeremy Kensington hurried up the corridor, adjusting his robes.

"You're late, Kensington," she observed, folding a memo and charming it to dart away, into the closing doors of the lift.

"I had some important business to attend to," Kensington answered, smiling coolly.

"At nine in the morning?" asked Nicki, handing him the papers that various people had left for him.

"Very important business," replied Kensington firmly. "Oh, and call Remus Lupin in, will you."

Nicki nodded, flourishing quill and parchment. "What shall I say for?"

"He's werewolf, we don't need a reason," said Kensington callously, marching past the desk and into Auror headquarters. Nicola dutifully wrote a letter to Remus and gave it to one of her junior clerks to Owl. Then she assigned Julia Tangent to take her place at the front desk and took the nearest chimney home, claiming she'd forgotten some papers.

Katherine was sitting in the lounge, playing chess against herself. She shrugged at Nicki's puzzled expression.

"Having a split personality comes in useful sometimes," she smiled. "What are you doing back so early anyway? They didn't sack you for being late, did they?"

"Do you know someone called Jeremy Kensington?" asked Nicki, leaning against the door frame.

"Is he still around?"

"He just asked me to call Remus in and didn't give a reason," said Nicki, watching her friend closely. "And he was late for work."

Katherine frowned, idly spiraling the black queen over and over between her long fingers. "Even Trix wouldn't be that stupid, would she?" she ventured at last.

"Bellatrix Lestrange?" asked Nicki. Katherine nodded, still thinking deeply. "She's a raving lunatic by all accounts. Azkaban tends to do that to people," she added, looking meaningfully at Katherine, who grinned half heartedly.

"I'm not crazy, Nic."

"You were in there longer than she was," pointed out Nicki calmly. Katherine shrugged, turning back to the chess board and placing the queen two spaces in front the white king. Nicki wandered over to the board and took the queen with a bishop. Katherine smiled faintly and looked up at her.

"Trixie's behind this, you know. She must have told Kensington. All my fault really; I shouldn't have killed Leon. She really did like him."

Nicki frowned. "You killed Leon?"

Katherine moved a rook forward one space before answering. "He was in the way."

Nicki took the rook with her knight and looked curiously at her old friend. "Of what?"

Katherine grinned, but didn't answer, taking Nicki's knight with her other rook. Nicki glanced down at the board. There were only five black pieces left; the king, a knight, a bishop, a rook and a pawn. A pawn which was only one square away from Nicki's side of the board.

The white king was in check by the castle, but even if she took it, the pawn would become a queen and she'd be in check mate. She looked back at Katherine who was smiling faintly.

"Life isn't a game, Kat," she said softly, taking the rook because there was nothing else she could do.

"No," agreed Katherine soberly, substituting her pawn for a queen and placing Nicki in checkmate. "In life, you don't have to play by the rules."


	9. Impossible is nothing

**Chapter 8 – Impossible is nothing**

Remus stepped out of the lift on Level 2 of the Ministry of Magic and walked up to the desk.

"I've got an appointment with Auror Kensington," he intoned wearily, hands in his pockets. The woman behind the desk glanced up.

"Identity card?" she asked in a bored voice.

"I'll handle this, Julia," cut in another woman with coffee coloured skin and dark brown eyes. Remus thought she looked familiar, but couldn't quite place the name. "This way Mister Lupin," she said sharply, turning on her heel and striding down the corridor into the middle of the Auror headquarters.

The woman stopped outside a door and knocked sharply. A male voice told them to enter and she opened the door, looking directly into Remus' eyes and suddenly he remembered who she was. Nicola Meliflua. Katherine's friend...

He opened his mouth to speak, then thought better of it as her eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly and chose instead to enter the room where Kensington sat in front of an oaken desk.

"Ah, you're here at last," said the old Auror, without a hint of a smile.

"I came as soon as I got the message," replied Remus, frowning slightly as the door closed with a definite sounding snap. "What's this about?"

Kensington smiled now, and Remus wished he hadn't. "Your friend. Riddle. Someone's let it slip to the papers."

"I saw. What's that got to do with me?" asked Remus, his frown deepening.

"Come now, Lupin," said Kensington, shaking his head. "You're not exactly the richest individual in the world. I expect a little extra cash would come in handy-"

"I didn't tell anyone," said Remus sharply. _Only he had, hadn't he. He'd told Faye, but she wouldn't have told anyone else would she...? And Mad-Eye had already known..._

"I don't believe you," said Kensington darkly, his brown eyes gleaming maliciously. "I'm afraid-" He stopped, frowning at the door. Remus looked around too; he could have sworn he'd heard the lock click. Slowly, Kensington got up and tried the handle. It was locked. He turned to Remus, looking furious. "Did you-?"

"They took my wand at reception," he said quickly, holding his hands up in protest.

"Funny - they didn't take mine," said a _very_ familiar voice from just behind Kensington's right ear. "I wouldn't try to move, Jeremy," the voice continued as the Auror made to reach for his wand. "Because I happen to have a rather sharp knife in my hand, which is currently positioned in front of your jugular vein and sudden movements make me jump." Kensington growled, but remained still. "Good boy," whispered the voice, then, _"Dormire."_

Kensington slumped to the floor in a heap and Katherine materialised, looking down at him. She poked him experimentally with her foot, but he took no notice. Finally, she looked up at Remus from under jet black lashes. There was silence for what seemed like an eternity, then Remus stepped forward and pulled his oldest friend in a tight hug.

"_Never_ do that again, Kat," he said fiercely in her ear.

"I won't," replied Katherine softly. Remus pulled back, eyebrows raised despite himself.

"You promise?"

"I promise," said Katherine, meeting his gaze steadily. "I'm not going to risk losing you again."

Remus smiled faintly. "I'm not going anywhere."

"I think he had other ideas," said Katherine, kicking Kensington in the ribs. The Auror just snored and rolled over.

"He's just doing his job," said Remus, sighing heavily. Katherine gave him a bemused look.

"He's a Death Eater, Rem. He was going to use you as bait to find me." She smiled at Remus' startled expression and added, "I guess it worked."

There was a crash from outside and they both jumped.

"Get out of here," said Remus quickly. "It's not safe."

"What about you?" asked Katherine. "I can't leave you with Jeremy."

The door handle rattled loudly and a voice growled. "Get out here this instant, Riddle."

"Alastor?" said Katherine softly. "He's still around?"

"He's meant to be retired," said Remus, frowning.

"How does he know I'm in here?" asked Katherine, looking worriedly at Remus.

"His eye."

"What about it?" asked Katherine, nonplussed.

"It's-" began Remus, then stopped as the door exploded.

x – X – x

Mad-Eye Moody limped into Auror HQ and headed for Kingsley Shacklebolt's cubicle. The young Auror was reading a report and Tonks was sitting on his desk, flicking through surveillance photos.

"Any news?" he asked gruffly. Kingsley glanced up and shook his head.

"Dawlish has gone up to Scotland to interview Faye Belle, but providing she's got the right documentation, he shouldn't be able to find some excuse to send her to Azkaban." Kingsley sighed and handed Moody the report he'd been reading. "The way I see it, if Katherine Riddle doesn't want to be found, she won't be. She's a metamorphmagus, for heaven's sake - she could be anywhere. It's a miracle you caught her last time."

"Constant vigilance," muttered Moody, his electric blue eye spinning in it's socket. Tonks grinned, then frowned as the eye quivered to a stop, staring out of the back of Moody's head.

"What is it, Mad-Eye?" she asked. Moody growled and darted out of the cubicle, running into someone coming the other way. Tonks and Kingsley followed him, jumping over the fallen Auror and the spilled paperwork that now littered the floor.

Moody headed down a side corridor, away from the maze of cubicles and didn't stop until he reached a door with a gold plaque affixed to it reading: _Jeremy Kensington_. He tugged on the door handle and snarled. "Get out here this instant, Riddle."

Tonks and Kingsley looked at each other and pulled out their wands. Alastor stepped back suddenly and pointed his own wand at the door which promptly exploded in a shower of splinters.

As the cloud of fragments settled, a woman stepped into the door frame. Bright cerulean eyes studied Moody for a moment, then a voice asked:

"What the hell happened to your face?"

"A few of your friends," growled Moody.

The woman glanced over her shoulder, grinning. "Honestly Moony. What were you thinking?"

Moody frowned and swiveled his eye onto the other occupant in the room. "Let Lupin go, Riddle. He's not part of this."

Katherine looked at Moody in surprise, then nodded. "Of course. Push off, Rem. This isn't your problem."

"You have three seconds," interjected Tonks, who was glowering at Katherine now. Katherine glanced at the young Auror, frowning.

"Hey, I said he could go. He's just not leaving," she objected, then tilted her head to one side. "Do I know you? You look familiar."

"She's Andy's daughter," said Remus quietly from behind her. Katherine paused, looking from Remus to Tonks and back again, Nicki's earlier words ringing alarm bells in her head. _"...there's a rumour going round the department that he's hooked up with some Auror half his age..."_

"Andy Black? Andy in our year, Andy? You're going out with Andy's _daughter_? Rem you're old enough to be her _father_," she whispered, staring at him. "Hell, the age you look, you could be her grandfather."

"Thanks for that Katherine," said Remus quietly, eyeing Tonks over his friend's shoulder.

"Where's Kensington?" asked Kingsley Shacklebolt.

Katherine glanced down at the sleeping Auror and muttered the counter spell. Kensington awoke with a start and, after taking a second to work out where he was, jumped to his feet and made a grab for Katherine who, to Remus' surprise, didn't try to move out of the way.

"The Dark Lord's very anxious to see you, Riddle," said Kensington nastily.

"What?" asked Moody gruffly, giving his old partner a suspicious look. Katherine grinned and slipped her right hand under the sleeve of Kensington's robes as the Auror cast a shocked look towards the door. Kensington jumped back with a cry and Remus saw the Dark Mark flare on Katherine's own arm.

"How did you do that?" asked Kensington, giving Katherine a horrified look.

"Family secret," said Katherine, burnished eyes glittering.

"Did you teach it to Faye?" asked Kensington viciously, clutching his arm as the sound of footsteps approached up the corridor. Back up had arrived. "Because she's going to need all the help she can get once McKenzie gets to her."

"Faye?" asked Katherine, voice not quite concealing the dread behind it.

"Faye," agreed Kensington, grinning heartlessly. "Your cousin. Kept that one quiet, didn't you Riddle? Not for very much longer I fear."

Remus threw himself towards the doorway just as Tonks darted around Kingsley and made to attack Katherine whose sole attention was on Kensington. He knocked Tonks over as Katherine slung a violent hex at Kensington who collapsed on the spot.

"Remus...?" asked Tonks, looking confusedly up at him. Remus opened his mouth to try and attempt to explain but was cut off as someone hauled him upright by his collar. The someone turned out to be Katherine who was looking furious.

"Tell me Faye's not in England," she hissed, glaring at him.

"Not in England..."

"Where is she?" demanded Katherine, grabbing his shoulders.

"Scotland," said Remus softly. "Katherine, she's at Hogwarts."

"And you're coming with us," said Kingsley, training his wand on her as Moody stooped over Kensington, one eye still watching his arch nemesis.

"No," said Katherine simply, vanishing from sight without so much as a sound. Moody whirled around, his eye going crazy in it's socket.

"Impossible," he growled. Remus looked at him miserably.

"This is Katherine you're talking about, Mad-Eye," he said gloomily. "The only thing that's impossible is her." He sighed and glanced down at Tonks who was gazing up at him with a mixture of bewilderment and anger.

"You know her?" she asked quietly. Remus grimaced; this was going to take a _lot_ of explaining.

x – X – x

"...So if there's anything you need, just come and see me. You know where my office is."

"Yes, thank you Minerva," smiled Faye, opening the door to her quarters and shutting it abruptly.

"Everything alright?" asked Minerva McGonagall, frowning slightly.

"Fine," said Faye quickly. "It's just, uh, when are the students arriving?"

"Around eight tomorrow evening. We're still not exactly sure how many are coming, but there should be at least fifty... Are you sure you're alright? You've gone quite pale."

"I'm just tired," said Faye weakly. "I, I should get some sleep. See you tomorrow."

"Goodnight," said Minerva carefully, looking curiously at the young woman before her.

"Night," said Faye quickly, darting inside her room and shutting the door firmly. She turned the key in the lock when she was sure Minerva was out of earshot and only then found the courage to turn around. "James..."

"Good evening Mademoiselle Belle," smiled James McKenzie, bowing slightly.

"You've been following me," said Faye quietly.

"You noticed," said James. He sounded delighted. "But you didn't tell that little werewolf friend of yours. That was foolish, Faye. Very foolish."

"What are you doing here?" asked Faye, eyeing her old classmate guardedly. He hadn't changed much since she'd seen him at Beauxbaton. The same ruby hair, the same dark brown eyes...

James smiled dangerously and brandished his wand, sending a streak of violet light towards Faye. Faye had been expecting it but only just managed to cast a shield charm in time. He'd evidently become much better at dueling since she'd last seen him. She dropped the shield to toss her own hex at him when a jet of blue sparks caught her in the chest.

"And now you're dead," said James, looking disapproving. Faye blinked and glanced down at herself.

"You turned my robes blue," she said in a puzzled voice. There was a bang and the cupboard on her right burst open, a body tumbling out. It was James McKenzie. Faye's head shot up to where James had been standing and gasped.

"You don't drop the bloody shield charm when there's a Death Eater standing in front of you," said Katherine roughly, glaring at her cousin.

"Katherine?" whispered Faye faintly.

"Yes?"

"That's really you?"

"Course it bloody is," snapped Katherine, striding over to the immobile James and checking his pulse. "You'd be dead right now if it wasn't."

"Is he...?"

"No. But only because Avada Kedavra is such a mouthful when you're sneaking up behind someone," remarked Katherine, standing up again.

"What's wrong with him?"

"Nothing. He's asleep," shrugged Katherine. "I'll deal with him later. You on the other hand-"

"I'm not leaving, Katherine," said Faye quickly. "Hear me out before you flip, alright?"

"Who says I'm going to flip?" asked Katherine, scowling at her.

"Remus," said Faye simply. Katherine opened her mouth to argue this point, then sighed.

"Fair enough."

"Right, well I'm not going to hide anymore. If James is here, then Voldemort probably already knows about me and if he wants to find me, he will. Running won't change that. Besides, I want to help this time. I'm not standing on the sidelines watching innocent people get killed for no reason. He ruined my life too, Katherine. He killed my mother and sent my family into hiding for seventeen years." Faye paused, gazing imploringly at her cousin. "And I want to get to know my cousin before it's too late."

"That it?" asked Katherine quietly. Faye nodded mutely, surveying her cousin intently. "Ok, but you're going straight round to Remus' at the weekend and getting some dueling lessons because that effort earlier was poor."

"What?" asked Faye, taken aback at Katherine's sudden change in attitude.

"Rem's a Marauder," said Katherine, smiling faintly. "He's fantastic at fighting, he just doesn't do it much."

"No, I mean... Well, you don't mind me being here?"

"Oh don't get me wrong, I think you're insane," said Katherine quickly. "But if you're only half as stubborn as me, then I know no one's going to force you to go anywhere. I don't fancy fighting a losing battle, thanks."

Faye smiled, green eyes sad. "I thought we were doing that anyway."

Katherine glanced up at her, looking almost surprised. "You think so?"

Faye hesitated. "You don't?"

Katherine grinned, hauling James up by the collar. "I did."

"What changed your mind?"

Katherine smiled cryptically, adjusting her grip on James and pulling a portkey out of her pocket. "I met someone who didn't."

x – X – x

"I did not call you," hissed Voldemort, glaring around at his followers.

"But Master," pleaded Bellatrix, lowering the sleeve on her left arm and returning to her place in the circle.

"What?" snapped Voldemort, turning his scarlet gaze on her.

"Someone did," answered Bella quietly.

"No one else _can_," snarled Voldemort angrily.

"And that is where I'd beg to differ," remarked a pleasant voice from the shadows of the doorway. The Lord of Darkness whirled around, eyes narrowing to slits as he focused on two forms. A man with flaming red hair was slumped at the feet of a taller figure with dark hair and bright eyes that glittered in the gloom. This figure stepped forward, twirling a long ebony wand between white fingers.

"Hello father."


	10. Inopia

**A/N:** Sorry this update took so long to get posted. I've been a bit stressed looking round universities and stuff. Anyway, enjoy!

**x - X - x**

**Chapter 9 – Inopia**

"Tonks, you've got to understand-" said Remus, holding up his hands then ducking as another plate flew past his head.

"No Remus, I don't understand," shouted Tonks, glowering at him, grabbing another mug and raising it threateningly. "She's a _Death Eater_! She's killed hundreds of people! She tried to kill your friends! There's an entire filing cabinet devoted to her at headquarters, for heaven's sake! How can you be friends with someone like that?"

"She'd never hurt me," said Remus gently, advancing slowly on her and prising the cup from her hands. She let go reluctantly and folded her arms, still glaring at him. They were in his flat; he'd taken her there before things got out of hand at the Ministry and he was hauled off for questioning. "She needs me-"

"And what happens when she stops needing you?" asked Tonks furiously, swallowing hard. "If she suddenly decides you know too much?"

"It's not like that," said Remus, lifting his gaze to meet hers and realising how close to tears she was. "She's never asked me anything about the Order and I don't ask her about the Death Eaters. They're not important."

"Not important?" asked Tonks, in a horrified tone of voice. "Remus-"

"That's not what I meant," amended Remus quickly, wondering how he'd got himself into this mess. "I mean we never let this stupid war come between us. And I need _her_ Tonks. She's the last friend I've got."

"That's rubbish," interjected Tonks. "You've got plenty of friends."

Remus sighed and sat down. "Out of the six good friends I had in school, she's the only one that isn't either dead or in Saint Mungo's."

"Yes, but only because she's been in Azkaban," pointed out Tonks.

"Sirius was in Azkaban," said Remus quietly.

"What's that got to do with anything? Sirius was innocent," frowned Tonks. "And he didn't try to kill any of your friends."

"He tried to kill Peter," said Remus, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "And Katherine didn't try to kill Lily and James." Tonks opened her mouth to interrupt again, but Remus held up a hand and said calmly: "Listen to me Tonks, if Katherine had tried to kill them, they would have died. I mean, you said yourself she's killed hundreds of people. It's not like she hasn't had any practice."

Tonks was grudgingly silent for a moment, seeing his point. "I still don't see what Sirius has to do with it," she said eventually.

"You trusted him, right?"

"Of course."

"Do you think he was a good judge of character?" probed Remus.

"He was right about Snape. He never did trust him," agreed Tonks, sounding a little calmer. Remus nodded, knowing that the temporary calm was going to vanish as soon as Tonks heard what he had to say.

"He trusted Katherine."

Tonks frowned. "What d'you mean?"

"I mean he believed she wasn't as bad as she's made out to be," said Remus, thinking even as he said it that Sirius had been wrong. Katherine was every bit as bad as Moody thought she was; it was just that she wasn't _always_ like that.

"Sirius was friends with her too?" asked Tonks sceptically.

"Not exactly friends," said Remus slowly. "No, I wouldn't call it friendship..."

"Well what would you call it then?" demanded Tonks, fed up of skirting around the issue.

Remus looked up at her, his brown eyes serene. "Well he asked her to marry him, so I guess I'd call it love."

x - X - x

There was a ringing silence in the dark room, then:

"I presume it _was_ you who sent this idiot to find me?"

A black robed figure broke out of their place in the circle and rushed to the motionless body on the floor.

"Leave him, Alexandra," said Voldemort firmly, though his eyes never left his wanton daughter. Alex stifled a sob and stood up, trembling, her fists clenched. The Dark Lord ignored her, his attention focused on Katherine. "So my dear, you have decided to return to us at last."

Katherine smiled sweetly. "I never left you."

"And yet you have not deigned to grace us with your presence before now," observed Voldemort. "Despite having been out of Azkaban for weeks."

"What? You expected me to come back, as good as gold? But then how would you ever have a chance to miss me?" asked Katherine, looking angelically up at her father. "What's the point in breaking out of the most secure prison in the world if you don't get to make a big entrance when you get back?"

"So you weren't making a bid for freedom?" queried the Dark Lord, his tone indicating that he did not believe a word of her story.

"I agreed to a lifetime's service," replied Katherine calmly, noticing someone to her right tilt their head slightly as though considering this remark. Avery was evidently still as sharp as always.

"And?"

"And I'm still alive, aren't I?"

"Yes, but for how much longer is debatable," remarked the Dark Lord, running a long white finger along the wand in his hand. "You see Katherine, I am not entirely convinced that you are still useful."

"Kill me then," challenged Katherine, somewhat unwisely in the opinion of many of the figures surrounding father and daughter. "Or if you don't wish too, and judging by the fact that I'm still breathing, you don't, then hear what I have to say."

As the silence that followed this proposal stretched out, Katherine began to wonder if she'd made the right decision. Hadn't she only just told her cousin that it was foolish to stand in front of a Death Eater without a shield charm? And Tom was more than just a Death Eater, he was immortal. For now.

"All right then, my dear," said Voldemort softly, interrupting her train of thought. "Convince me that I shouldn't kill you..."

x - X - x

"Love?" repeated Tonks faintly, quite taken aback. "Sirius loved her?"

"I think so. She certainly loved him," said Remus, standing up and moving closer to Tonks now that it looked like she wasn't going to hex him anymore.

"But-" began Tonks, then stopped as the fireplace flared green and a blonde haired woman tumbled out of it.

"Faye?" asked Remus, as Tonks lowered her wand. Faye picked herself up, brushing soot from her robes.

"Oh Remus, thank goodness you're here-" she gushed, then cast an alarmed look at Tonks, noticing her for the first time. "Oh, hello."

Tonks frowned at the cool reaction and tightened her grip on her wand very slightly. "Something wrong?"

"No," stammered Faye, wishing she had her cousin's easy way of talking herself out of trouble. "I um..."

"She knows about Katherine, Faye," said Remus tiredly, noticing Tonks' sudden scowl. She evidently hadn't guessed that Faye also knew Remus and Katherine's history.

Faye looked startled. "How did you know-?"

"Miss Riddle paid the Ministry a little visit earlier," said Tonks, looking uncharacteristically grave.

"Why on earth would she do that?" asked Faye in astonishment. "Does she want to get caught?"

"You know, that's a good point," said Tonks, turning on Remus. "What _was_ she doing there?"

"Helping me out," said Remus, gazing dolefully at Tonks. "Kensington was planning on taking me to Voldemort to use as bait."

"For what?" frowned Tonks, utterly thrown by this.

"For Katherine," said Remus. "I presume he was under orders from Voldemort to find her by any means necessary."

"But Voldemort's the one who got her out of Azkaban," said Tonks slowly, as though talking to a very young child. "Why on earth would he need to send his followers to look for her?"

Remus and Faye exchanged guiltily looks then Faye said gently, "Katherine got herself out of Azkaban, Tonks."

"And she hasn't been near Voldemort," added Remus. "Else he wouldn't have been looking for her."

Tonks arched an eyebrow at him. "Ok, well if she's been out of Azkaban for a couple of weeks and she hasn't rejoined Voldemort, then what _has_ she been doing?"

Remus opened his mouth to answer, then closed it again. The truth was that he had no idea. It wasn't like Katherine to go into hiding and yet he was sure that if the paper hadn't got hold of the story, Katherine wouldn't have voluntarily shown her face. Then again, it wasn't like Katherine was a coward. Turning up in the middle of Auror HQ when her face was on every Wanted poster in the country had proved that. She was either brave or incredible stupid and Remus knew from experience that she wasn't the latter.

"She's changed, Remus," said Faye softly, disturbing his thoughts. "She's not as careless as she used to be."

"She was never careless," frowned Remus.

"Oh you know what I mean," said Faye, shaking her head. "It's like she's found something to channel her energy into. She doesn't waste as much time being flippant. When I told her I was staying here, she just accepted it, no arguments."

"Wait a minute, she came to see you?" asked Tonks. "When was this?"

"Just now," answered Faye, looking serenely back at Tonks.

"Didn't you hear Kensington telling her he knew about her cousin?" asked Remus, frowning at Tonks, who shook her head.

"I was more concerned with the fact that you'd just knocked me on the floor."

"I didn't want you getting hit by accident," explained Remus earnestly. "She looked ready to kill Kensington."

"And you were just saying what a lovely person she really is," observed Tonks, giving Remus an appraising look.

"Well she is when you're her friend," protested Remus.

"And exactly how many friends has she got?" asked Tonks, folding her arms. Remus took a moment to think about it.

"Out of everyone I can think of," said Remus slowly. "I'd say definitely at least two. Me and Faye."

Tonks snorted. "Faye's family, that doesn't count. You've got to love family."

"Actually, she hated my father and as far as I know, she hates her father too," cut in Faye.

"Her father's dead," objected Tonks.

"I wish," remarked Faye dryly. "It's her adoptive parents that are dead."

"No, I know about that, but I've seen Tom Riddle's death certificate," said Tonks firmly. "Or a copy of it anyway. Two Ministry workers went to her flat and brought back a load of papers, well, one of them brought back papers at any rate. The other one's in Saint Mungo's."

Remus tried very hard not to look as guilty as sin as Faye asked in a creditably calm voice, "What happened to him?"

"Well no one's quite sure. Dulce says he just collapsed on the floor after going in. It must have been some kind of security measure. It didn't affect Dulce, apparently, but then, he went in second."

"And what does the other man say about it?" asked Remus, frowning at this version of events. Perhaps Tonks wasn't referring to the man he'd hit with Katherine's hex after all.

"He's not saying anything," said Tonks, sighing heavily. "He _can't_ say anything. The healers say he can't talk, let alone move. They're not even sure he can hear, though I don't suppose that matters too much to your friend," she added, looking accusingly at Remus.

"He shouldn't have been trying to break in," murmured Remus, trying to make sense of this new information in his head. Katherine had never mentioned any extra security measures before, certainly not one that left the would be burglar lying conspicuously paralysed in the doorway. And yet, if the man _had_ been the one Remus had hexed, why on earth was Dulce lying about what had happened...?

"So Reeves deserved what he got, is that what you think?" demanded Tonks angrily. "He's only a couple of years older than me and now he's going to be spending the rest of his life in a hospital bed."

But Remus wasn't listening anymore, he was looking worriedly at Faye who was biting her lip, evidently thinking the same thing as him. The man who'd run out onto the balcony that day had been called Reeves, which meant that Dulce was lying about the security measure, which meant something very strange was going on, which, in Remus' experience, meant that somewhere at the bottom of it, he'd undoubtedly find Katherine...

x - X - x

"...so you're teaching at Hogwarts?" asked Voldemort, looking curiously at his daughter. They had retired to a back room, after he had dismissed the rest of his followers. Neither of them had thought it wise that Katherine's motives be public knowledge.

"Faye Belle is teaching at Hogwarts," answered Katherine, smiling cruelly. "At least, that's what dear darling Minerva thinks. I must congratulate you, Father, on getting rid of Dumbledore. He would have made things considerably more difficult for me."

"And this Faye Belle?" inquired Voldemort, ignoring the complement.

"Dead as a doornail," replied Katherine cheerfully. "And transfigured into a stone. Probably being kicked around on Southend sea front at this very moment."

"You murdered her?"

"Of course. Can't have a blood traitor spoiling the family name now, can we?" smiled Katherine easily. "She claimed she'd rather die than join us, so I took her at her word. That's not a problem, is it?"

"No," said Voldemort, ceasing his frowning at last. "Welcome back, Katherine. I trust you will not disappoint me again."

Katherine gazed up at him, sapphire eyes shining angelically. "Never, Master."

"Then you will kindly release McKenzie from whatever curse he is under," ordered Voldemort, resuming his impersonal manner.

Katherine pulled her wand out of her jeans pocket and made leave the room to go to the sleeping man when Voldemort suddenly commanded her to stop. She did so and glanced curiously up at him.

"Where is your ring?" he asked sharply, gesturing pointedly at her right hand, in which she held her wand. Katherine took a while to figure out what he meant, then reached for her necklace with her left hand and pulled the chain out of her blouse. Dangling from it, glinting silver in the torchlight were a snake pendant and next to it, a sapphire studded ring.

"I didn't want anyone to identify me from it," she said slowly, watching her father's face carefully. "It's rather distinctive. Alastor said it killed a werewolf when I was five," she added helpfully.

"What?" asked Voldemort, looking distractedly at her. Katherine shrugged.

"He was trying to kill me and the ring did something. I presume it was a one off; I don't recall anything of the sort happening since."

"Very well," nodded Voldemort. "You may go."

Katherine left the room quickly, shutting the door behind her. _Well that had been odd..._

"What have you done to my brother?" hissed Alexandra, standing up from where she'd been sitting beside James and glaring at Katherine.

"Nothing," said Katherine calmly. "Yet." She flicked her wand and James awoke and sat up, looking around groggily. Katherine knelt down beside him and took his face in one hand, turning it to face hers. "If you _ever_ pull a stunt like that one again, Jamie, I will use Number Four on you, understand?" James tried to out stare her, then gave in and muttered his consent. "Good," smiled Katherine sweetly. "Same goes for you, Alex. You're not to mention Faye Belle to anyone. She's dead and gone, and I won't have anyone thinking differently, all right?"

Alex glowered at her as she stood up. "You should watch your back, Riddle. Bellatrix Lestrange is after your blood."

"I can handle Trix, believe me," chuckled Katherine, giving Alex an amused look.

"That's not what she thinks," said Alex resolutely.

"You know what," said Katherine, sighing tiredly. "I don't think I much care." She smiled faintly and walked around the twins, pushing open the door that lead into the hallway. Leaning against the wall opposite was a black robed man with highlighted blond hair and a silver earring that reflected the torchlight. He smiled as the door swung shut behind Katherine and shifted position on the wall.

"There's a fine line between genius and insanity, Riddle, and I'm never sure which side you're on."

Katherine laughed quietly, gazing fondly at her old friend. "You know what, Rob? Neither am I."

**x - X - x**

_R&R!_


	11. The Rose and Thorn

**Chapter 10 – The Rose and Thorn**

Katherine leant back in her seat inside the small alcove so that shadows fell across her face. She was currently wearing a face reminiscent of Samantha Stevenson, an old classmate of hers who had died in the first war, so she was unlikely to be recognise but it still paid to be cautious.

Avery appeared a few seconds later, carrying two glasses, one of which was smoking. He pushed this one across the table to Katherine, who grinned.

"Still abstaining from alcohol, then?" she asked, sipping her Firewhisky.

Robert shrugged. "I still drink sometimes, but I've got to go home later and explain to Cass that you really are still around. She's going to think I'm mad as it is; I'd rather not have her thinking I'm drunk. She'd probably lock me out."

"Fair enough," grinned Katherine, examining her long brown braids interestedly. "So, what have you been up to? Last I heard, you'd been made Minister of Magical Transportation. So that would mean you police the Floo Network, right?"

Robert gazed at her with cool brown eyes. "That's the Auror's job."

"And the blue fire network?" asked Katherine, her eyes, currently a velvety green, shining with innocence.

Robert leant back, frowning, though not with annoyance. "You found that, huh?"

"Complete accident, actually," said Katherine, running a finger idly around the rim of her glass. "I happened to rub my left arm when I was standing next a fire place and the flames turned blue for an instant. Thought it was my imagination at first." She smiled, tilting her head to one side. "A Floo network just for us. How on earth did you manage to deliver that one to Dad without him figuring out you've got a four digit IQ?"

"No one's got a four digit IQ, Katherine," said Robert gently, taking a swig of the purple mixture in his glass. "And your father doesn't know I invented it. I let Travers take the credit. In return he lets me drink here, free of charge. He owns this place," he added, by way of explanation.

Katherine was silent for a moment, then dredged up a forename from the dark depths of her memory. "Lynx? The one Nicki was obsessed with in seventh year?"

Robert smirked. "So you've caught up with Nicola then?" he asked pleasantly.

"How'd you figure that?"

"You didn't call her Meliflua," explained Robert. "As I recall, you two parted on rather bad terms."

"So did we," reminded Katherine, folding her arms defensively. "So did everyone."

"That was your doing," said Robert, leaning forward and gazing across the table at his old classmate. "You know, it's funny - we only figured that out after you'd been arrested." He sighed, sitting up and running a hand through his blond hair. "Should have seen it earlier, I guess, but Slytherins don't do things like that."

"Things like what?" asked Katherine, determined to make him say it.

"Like splitting their friends up so they don't hurt each other," said Robert softly, shaking his head.

Katherine smiled gently and looked up at him. "Well it worked, didn't it?"

Robert cast her a suspicious look. "Yes. But I don't get why you did it."

"That's because you've got a Slytherin mentality," grinned Katherine.

"And that's a bad thing?"

"Not exactly, but just because you're standing in London, that doesn't mean you're not part of England."

"I don't follow you."

"That's alright," shrugged Katherine. "I didn't expect you to."

There was a long pause, then: "You're crazy, Riddle."

"I know."

Robert smiled lazily, and drained his glass. "How about I get us another round of free drinks, and then you can tell me exactly what you've been up to for the past two years?"

Katherine, who'd been staring absently at her nails, looked up at him sharply, then shook her head, grinning. "You want to be careful Rob," she warned, as she handed him her empty glass. "One of these days you're going to cut yourself..."

x – X – x

Remus sat at his kitchen table, staring gloomily at the slim green bottle in front of him. Absinthe. Katherine's favourite. Unopened. He hadn't even realised he'd got any until Faye had gone through the drinks cabinet and asked him what it was. Apparently she wasn't very familiar with muggle drinks, even though some of them had a much bigger kick than any wizarding concoctions.

He glanced absently at his watch. 12:01. He should be asleep, but Faye was staying over in case any Death Eaters were bold enough to risk another kidnap attempt and that meant he was sleeping on the sofa, like the gentleman he was. Even though the sofa was missing half it's springs and sagged in the middle. It'd probably be more comfortable on the floor.

_It'd be even more comfortable in your own bed,_ whispered a treacherous thought.

_**I can't kick Faye out.**_

_Who said you had to...?_

He shook his head violently and sighed. He'd forgotten the effect Katherine had on him; she made him reckless.

_She makes you normal,_ put in the voice again, somewhat spitefully in Remus' opinion.

"She makes me forget," said Remus softly, then jumped as he caught sight of a movement in the doorway.

"You sure you haven't had any of that stuff?" asked Faye, fiddling with the belt of her blue satin dressing gown. She raised her eyebrows at Remus' puzzled expression. "Well you did say it makes you hallucinate and you were talking to yourself."

Remus shook his head and rubbed his tired eyes with one hand. "Just thinking out loud."

Faye smiled and drew up the chair opposite him. "So, who makes you forget?"

"Your cousin," mumbled Remus, then frowned. "I thought you were asleep."

"You thought wrong," shrugged Faye, turning the absinthe bottle around to examine it. "What does she make you forget?"

"Hmm?"

"Katherine. What does she make you forget? Your birthday? How to behave like a normal human being?" asked Faye, keeping her emerald eyes fixed firmly on the ingredients list, which admittedly wasn't very long. Alcohol, water and wormwood infusion. Wormwood? Didn't you use that in potions?

"What's that supposed to mean?" frowned Remus, derailing her train of thought.

Faye glanced up and gave him an appraising look. "Remus, when I came in earlier you were trying to _explain_ Katherine. No sane person would ever attempt that."

"I guess." There was comfortable silence, then Remus said softly: "Everything. She makes me forget everything."

Faye looked at him with a expression torn between curiosity and sorrow, but remained silent, waiting for him to go on. Remus met her gaze and smiled wanly.

"She doesn't care, you know. That I'm a werewolf. Genuinely doesn't care. Sometimes I get the distinct feeling she thinks it's interesting or useful or...I don't know. Something. She's crazy. She's..."

"Everything you would have been and everything you wouldn't," finished Faye, her gaze fixed once again on the absinthe bottle.

Remus nodded, thinking that that just about summed it up. "And Tonks is never going to understand that."

There was a slight pause that Remus felt went on for just a fraction too long for his liking, then Faye shook her head. "She'll come round."

"And if she doesn't?"

Faye looked up this time, emerald eyes sincere. "Then it's her loss."

x – X – x

Robert Avery pulled the door to his house softly shut behind him and glanced at the shimmering patch of air next to him where Katherine had been a moment before. He frowned, then noticed what Katherine had realised as soon as she'd stepped inside. There were voices coming from the drawing room. Cassie's clear melodic timbre and deeper, gravely tones. A man's voice.

He glanced at the grandfather clock that stood in the atrium, steadily counting away the minutes. 12:01. Who on earth was visiting his wife in the middle of the night?

A small figure moved in the shadows at the top of the wide staircase and he looked up quickly to see his daughter standing there, clutching a ragged teddy bear under one small arm.

"Katy?"

The blonde girl pattered down the stairs, holding onto the high banister with the hand that wasn't gripping the teddy. She raised her arms up as she reached the last step and Robert picked her up, wrapping his arms around her.

"Had a bad dream?"

Katy nodded, her small fingers clutching at his robes for comfort, her head resting on his shoulder. Robert stroked her soft hair and walked quietly towards the drawing room, feeling Katherine's presence beside him, even though he couldn't see her.

"...thought you should know," the deep voice was saying. Robert frowned and pushed open the door, not at all sure what he expected to walk in on. Cassandra was sitting in a leather chair, still wearing the clothes she'd put on that morning. She was also frowning at the dark haired man who stood before her, his smart bowler hat clasped in his hands.

"Daniel?" asked Robert, adjusting his daughter's weight in his arms. The young girl twisted around to gaze blankly at the stranger, then caught sight of her mother and stretched out her arms towards her. Cassie quickly stood up and took hold of her daughter, exchanging a dark look with her husband.

"Ah, Ro- Mr Avery," smiled Daniel, not quite managing to hide the nervous quaver in his voice. "How nice to-"

"What are you doing here Daniel?" asked Robert, folding his arms and treating his junior to a penetrating look.

"I uh-"

"Or more specifically, what are you doing here with my wife when all sensible people are in bed, asleep?" continued Robert, frowning.

Daniel shifted nervously, not liking the stress Robert had put on _sensible_. The man may be an imbecile, but that didn't mean he wasn't powerful. And besides, looking at him now, Daniel was seriously beginning to doubt that Robert was as stupid as people made him out to be. Maybe he just never showed it. And though Daniel himself wasn't astute enough to work out what this meant, he _was_ smart enough to figure out that if an intelligent person could pretend to foolish and get away with it, that meant they were _very _clever indeed.

"I-"

"He's heard a rumour that Katherine is visiting old school friends," interrupted Cassie. "He came to warn me."

Robert glanced at his wife for a long moment, then nodded. "I see. Well then, Daniel. Thank you for informing us, but next time perhaps you could just send an Owl?"

"Of course, Mr Avery," gushed Daniel, obviously relieved. He back towards the fireplace, still apologising profusely. "Sorry to have bothered you, Mr Avery."

The flames in the grate flared green for a moment as he stepped into them, then died to orange, leaving no trace that anyone had ever been there.

"What was that about?" asked Robert, turning to his now scowling wife.

"He came to tell me you left work early and then you'd been seen in _The Rose and Thorn_," Cassie answered, setting her daughter down in the chair she'd previously occupied. "With a woman. Stupid man thought you were having an affair."

"What did you say?" asked Robert, watching his daughter curl up in the chair, hugging her teddy bear.

"I told him must have been mistaken and to mind his own business," shrugged Cassie. "Oh don't worry, I was diplomatic about it," she reassured, seeing Robert's expression. "Mind you, from the way you acted just now, he's probably already half way to Rita Skeeter with the all the sordid details he can think of."

Robert sighed and ran a hand through his hair, before glancing up at his wife, with something like worry in his eyes. "I'm not, you know."

"Not what?"

"Having an affair."

Cassie smiled. "I know. Besides, if you were, there's no way you'd be careless enough to let yourself get caught. And you certainly wouldn't take whoever it was to the _The Rose and Thorn_ of all places. Only a fool would take his mistress to the local pub." Robert nodded dismally as Cassie put her arms round him. "What did He want?" she asked quietly, and Robert knew she was no longer talking about Daniel.

"Nothing," murmured Robert, kissing the top of Cassie's head. "Nothing to do with us, at any rate."

Cassie pulled back, looking up at him curiously. "Then why call a meeting?"

"He didn't," said Robert, meeting her gaze with dark eyes. "She did."

Cassie was silent for a moment, then tilted her head to one side, studying her husband objectively. "Who's 'she'?" she asked, in a voice too casual to be natural.

"You know who," said Robert softly.

"Rob, she's gone," managed Cassie in a voice that amazingly still classified as calm. "I know it'd be good to have her around again but I don't care what the papers say, she died. There's no way she could have survived once they bricked her cell up." Cassie looked up at him, eyes firm, voice quiet. "There's no way she'd do that to us."

There was a long pause, then: "Cass?"

"Yes, Rob?"

"She's Katherine. There's nothing she won't do."

Cassie stared at him, at his grim brown eyes and steady gaze, and then looked over his shoulder, at the figure that leant against a sixteen century wooden cabinet. A figure with short black hair, pale skin and brilliant blue eyes that were currently fixed firmly on the floor.

The figure glanced up as Cassie stared at her and met her gaze with a mixture of shame and obstinacy, then looked away.

"Katherine?" she asked faintly. The figure shrugged, as though it wasn't sure anymore, or maybe simply didn't want to be. Cassie let go of her husband and walked over to her old friend. "You're alive?"

"It would appear so," agreed Katherine, raising her head to look at her. Cassie stared at her for a moment longer, then slapped her across the face, looking furious. "What the bloody _hell_ d'you think you're playing at? You're supposed to be _dead_!"

Katherine stood still for a moment, then rubbed her jaw, looking up at her friend from under dark lashes. "Dmn, Cass. That _hurt_."

"Not half as much as you deserve," pointed out Cassie, ignoring the stinging pain in her own hand.

"Probably not," admitted Katherine ruefully. "But think how nice the world would be with a little less pain."

Cassie stared at her for a moment, then the corners of her mouth twitched and she smiled despite herself. "That's your motto is it?"

"Nope. Morituri nolumus mori, that's my motto. Well, I suppose it should be _morituri nolo mori _if it just applies to me. Something like that anyway. My Latin's not what it was."

"Not _Cogito ergo vexo_?" asked Cassie, smiling sweetly.

Katherine looked at her with wide eyed innocence. "Now Cass, that's just not fair."

In the small silence that followed, the two woman grinned at each other and a sleepy voice murmured: "It's _cogito ergo sum_."

The three adults paused then turned to stare at the small girl, who lay half asleep in the large leather armchair. Cassie sighed heavily.

"Only a child of yours would know Latin before they were six, Robert," she remarked, walking over to her daughter and picking her up. She smiled and glanced over at Katherine. "You're still not completely forgiven, you know."

Katherine nodded in acknowledgement. "I know, but I'm making up for it, I promise you."

"I don't suppose you can tell us how?" ventured Cassie, without much hope.

"Not unless you really want me to kill you," said Katherine calmly, without the slightest hint of jest, but Cassie just rolled her eyes and carried Katy out of the room and back to bed. "She's cute," remarked Katherine as the door swung shut behind mother and daughter.

Robert smiled. "She's adorable."

"And she's called Katy?" probed Katherine.

Robert sighed. "Katherine Louise Avery," he said, meeting her gentle gaze. "After you and Lou."

"You named your daughter after two dead people?" asked Katherine, arching an eyebrow. Louise had been the name of Robert's elder sister who'd been killed by Aurors when he was twenty, during a raid on the Baltimore Manor.

"No, we named her after two people who deserved remembering," corrected Robert. He shoved his hands in his robes and gazed at her earnestly. "Why did you do it, Kat?"

"I thought it was the best option," answered Katherine honestly.

"It wasn't."

Katherine shrugged again. "Hindsight makes prophets of us all, Rob. I spent so much time focusing on Tom, I missed all the signs. It's a dmn good thing Reg didn't."

"Regulus found something out?" asked Robert, eyes bright for a moment, then the light faded. "But Bella was the last one to see him."

Katherine smiled sourly and pulled a folded piece of paper out of her pocket. "Bet your life on it...?"


	12. Tempus fugit

**A/N:** Because it's nearly Christmas, and because xLightbulb requested it, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

**x – X – x**

**Chapter 11 – Tempus fugit**

Robert was silent for a long time after reading the papers. Eventually he looked up, his light eyes shadowed.

"This is huge."

Katherine nodded, fiddling absently with the ring that hung round her neck. Tom had been so mysterious about that, but it was just a ring. Her mother's ring, at that. A ring Tom had given to her...

"Why tell me?"

Katherine glanced up, almost surprised at Robert's question. "Because you're the smartest person I know," she answered simply. "And I need your help."

"It's not like you to ask for help with anything," frowned Robert, gazing back down at the papers.

"Like you said, this is huge. I can't handle it alone and besides," she hesitated for a moment, then went on, "The truth nearly died with Regulus. I can't afford for that to happen again. Tom needs to be stopped."

"Katherine, I've got a family to support – this is dangerous. If he finds out-"

"Then we're dead, I know. But if you don't, then he doesn't die. _Ever._ And your family stays in danger for the rest of their lives. It's the only way to stop him," said Katherine earnestly, leaning forward in her seat.

"What about Potter?"

Katherine frowned, thrown by this question. "What about him?"

"He's supposed to be the only one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord," reminded Robert, running a nervous hand through his spiky hair.

Katherine arched a sceptical eyebrow. "He's seventeen, he's an orphan _and_ he's in Gryffindor. That means he's all brave deeds and famous last stands which never do anyone any good. He doesn't stand a chance."

"Have you talked to Lupin about him?" asked Robert curiously.

"No, why?"

"Because you hear things at the Ministry. Potter seems to get into even more trouble than his father did and he's managed to rub Lucius Malfoy up the wrong way on a number of occasions. He's not your average teenager."

Katherine's blue eyes were suddenly alight with interest. "He's annoyed Lucius?"

"Well let's see, first there was the Philosopher's stone fiasco," said Robert, settling back into his chair, eyes dark with memory. "Only know about that through some very risky eavesdropping by one of my juniors. We saw Nicholas Flammel's name on the Floo Network and tracked him to the Three Broomsticks."

"Why?" interrupted Katherine, not understanding her friend's motives.

"Because the man is – was – over six hundred years old. The Floo wasn't even invented when he was born. He kept getting off at the wrong stop and that kind of thing gets you noticed at the office. Anyway, when he finally reached the pub, Julian hung around the chimney and listened in – don't look at me like that, it's not illegal. Well not technically – you're really only supposed to do it for repairs, but, you know."

"Hey, you don't have to explain yourself to me," objected Katherine. "I just didn't know you _could_ hang around inside a chimney."

"Well you can," shrugged Robert. "You've just got to know how to stop between grates. Causes awful blockages if you stay there too long, but it wasn't very busy that night."

"Fascinating as this is, I feel I'm missing the point of this little tale," pressed Katherine, gazing serenely at her friend.

"The point is that it turned out Quirrel – remember our DADA professor, it was his son – had been teaching at Hogwarts and had tried to steal the Philosopher's stone that Dumbledore had put there for safe keeping. Only Potter and two of his friends had stopped him. Dumbledore and Flammel decided to destroy it in the end, to prevent the Dark Lord getting his hands on it."

"Quirrel was trying to get it for Tom?" asked Katherine. Robert nodded gravely.

"Potter and his friends broke through a lot of enchantments to get to the stone, by all accounts. Even one set up by Severus."

Katherine laughed, eyes glinting. "Bet he was happy about that."

"Bloody furious," answered Robert cheerfully. "Least that's what Julian says. Apparently Potter thought he was the one trying to steal the stone in the first place."

"Well I wouldn't put it past him," remarked Katherine grimly. "But one adventure doesn't make Potter a hero."

"No? Well he also found the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets and killed Slytherin's monster," reported Robert, straight faced. "Lucius was raging about that one for months. Lost him his House Elf too."

"What?" asked Katherine, staring at him. "But..."

"But what?"

"But Potter's a boy," said Katherine, frowning.

"Yes?" ventured Robert, missing her point.

"And the entrance to the Chamber is in a _girls_ bathroom," answered Katherine. "Besides, you'd need to be a parselmouth..."

"That was another rumour circling the papers," frowned Robert, not at all surprised to learn that Katherine knew where the Chamber was. "I guess it must be true. As for the girls' bathroom, one of his best friends is a girl. According to Rita Skeeter, Potter was having a steamy love affair with her-"

"-which means they are almost certainly just friends," finished Katherine.

"Right. Convinced he's a boy wonder yet?" asked Robert, smirking.

"No."

"He helped Sirius Black to escape a Dementor's kiss. Casts an excellent Patronus by all accounts. Nearly got arrested for that a couple of years ago – underage magic and all that."

"Wait a minute," said Katherine, her brows creasing in puzzlement. "A couple of years ago? But then how old was he when the Chamber was opened? And when the Philosopher's stone was at Hogwarts?"

"It was his first and second years at Hogwarts, so about eleven," mused Robert, enjoying Katherine's look of open disbelief. "Told you he was a boy wonder. Now then, let's see, then there was the Dark Lord's return. He dueled with him in front of all of us. Want to know something interesting? The cores of their wands are the same – pretty golden lights and everything when they connected," grinned Robert sardonically. "Credit where it's due, I thought he was a goner."

"He had help from his parents," shrugged Katherine.

"Yeah, but could you have held on for that long?" asked Robert seriously. "He was only fourteen." He paused, running the last bit of their conversation over in his head, then gave Katherine a very strange look. "How did you know about the ghosts? You weren't there."

"I've been out for a long time, Rob," said Katherine, her face unreadable.

"Not that long," said Robert firmly. "In fact, I'm almost certain that's the night you broke out so you_ can't _have been there."

"Daemon told me," said Katherine blankly.

"I don't believe you," replied Robert, gazing at her intently.

"Severus then."

"Severus wasn't there. He was keeping his cover at Hogwarts."

"Lucius?"

"You haven't spoken to Lucius," frowned Robert. "So how did you know?"

"Because that's just what priori incantatem does," said Katherine, folding her arms and gazing insolently back at him. "The reverse spell effect. You get taught that at NEWT."

Robert stared at her, unconvinced. Of course she was right, they did get taught that but she'd been so sure. She'd sounded like she'd seen it, but she couldn't have. It was impossible.

Unconsciously his eye fell onto the papers in front of him. Horcruxes increase your chance of survival, but you need to kill to do it. Well that wouldn't be a problem for Katherine, and she had killed Leon the day she'd been arrested...

"Actually, Evan was the last person I killed." Robert glanced up at Katherine's voice. She smiled. "Alastor took the credit for him though. I suppose he deserves it, Evan did take a nasty chunk out of his nose."

Robert frowned, how had she known what he'd been thinking? But then of course it had been glaringly obvious. Still, he had to ask.

"Did you-"

"Make a horcrux?" asked Katherine, blue eyes glittering dangerously. "Tear my soul in two? What do you think?"

"I don't think you would," said Robert softly, eyes drawn to the diamond ring that shone on her left hand. "No one capable of love could do that to themselves."

"Oh I don't know," said Katherine in a flippant voice, though her eyes were serious. "People do stupid things for love. Evan murdered his girlfriend."

"Evan was a prat," retorted Robert.

"Potter's a prat," objected Katherine. "Taking on curses and basilisks and a vengeful Lord of Darkness. He's got a death wish."

"He's determined. He flew from Hogwarts to the Ministry to get hold of the prophecy," said Robert, sounding almost admiring. "Do you know the prophecy?"

Katherine nodded mutely. "That's what caused all this trouble. Can't understand why Tom wasn't more careful, I mean he practically ensured Potter would be able to defeat him, didn't he? I would have just ignored it. Far more sensible." She glanced over at Robert who was frowning at her again. He'd taken to doing that a lot lately.

"How could he have known Potter would survive his attack?" he asked.

"Because it's bloody obvious, isn't it? If you mark someone as your equal, then anything you do to them, they're going to be able to do back to you." She frowned to herself, lost in her own thoughts as Robert stared at her. "Maybe that's where Potter gets his parseltongue from. A bit of Tom went into him. What?" She'd noticed Robert's expression.

"Mark him as his equal? Where'd that come from?" Katherine's eyes narrowed slightly as Robert's own eyes widened. "Salazar," he whispered, suddenly leaning back in his chair as though recoiling from a snake. "You know it, don't you?"

"Well so do you," said Katherine cautiously. "Right? The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches, and all that? Right?"

"Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies," recited Robert. Katherine nodded, though warily. "And then it goes on," said Robert softly. "Only no one knows how."

Katherine gave him a long, steady look, then sunk her head into her hands and muttered something Robert couldn't quite catch, for which he was grateful. Robert knew why she was angry; if she knew something that was of value to Tom, she was bound to tell him.

"You could let it slip to Remus," offered Robert. That's what she'd always done before when she was having a conflict of duties. "That way Potter would know too."

"He already knows," muttered Katherine. "Least he should do if Dumbledore had any sense."

"How bad is it?" asked Robert, watching Katherine slumped over in her chair.

"_Very_ bad," she mumbled, peeking out at him from between long fingers. "Still," she sighed, straightening up. "Tom can get stuffed for all I care. If he's inattentive enough not to realise that his own daughter is an Unspeakable then he doesn't deserve to know what's going on."

Robert gazed at her, smiling faintly. "A lifetime's service, huh?" Katherine looked up at him, a lazy smile playing around her lips. "You always were one to play by the rules," remarked Robert, eyeing her with something like pride. "And you died, Katherine. I'd consider that my debt paid."

Katherine grinned and stretched luxuriantly. "I'd best be getting home."

"You still haven't told me how you knew what happened the night the Dark Lord came back," interjected Robert. "Or how you survived for that long in Azkaban."

Katherine smiled sweetly at him. "What makes you think I intend to tell you? Goodnight Robert. It's been good catching up."

"What about these?" Robert asked, gesturing to the papers still lying on the table.

"Keep them," shrugged Katherine. "They make for very interesting reading. Burn them when you're done; I've got copies. Don't worry, they're in a safe place."

"I still haven't said I'll help."

"Well? Will you?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"I don't have a choice, do I?"

"Everyone's got a choice," said Katherine gently. "Mistakes are made when they don't realise that."

Robert sighed heavily. "There's not much to go on. He doesn't know where they are, or how many there are. And there's only a vague outline on what they might be."

"I know where to look," said Katherine firmly. "And I've already destroyed one. Regulus found another – that we have to find. But we'll pick up where he left off...if you'll help."

Robert was silent for a long moment, then he nodded. "I'll do it. For Cassie and Katy. And for Regulus."

Katherine smiled softly. "For Regulus. See you tomorrow, Rob."

x – X – x

Katherine didn't go straight home after she left Avery's house, even though it was approaching three in the morning; instead she did what she always did on nights like this. She found an underground bar. It wasn't that hard to do if you knew where to look. A quiet little pub that sold alcohol at any time of the day or night.

This one was called Omega and it had a dart board. Katherine eyed it while waiting for a drink. She hadn't played darts in years. Good for stress relieving, darts. She used to pretend it was Evan's face. Or James', but Sirius hadn't liked that, so it was mostly Evan. She sighed, gazing down at her engagement ring.

Robert had noticed it she was sure, but he hadn't said anything. There weren't many things that Robert didn't notice. The fact that she'd killed Regulus was one. She'd been surprised at that. After all, she'd practically told him she'd been the last person to see him. But no, Robert thought better of her than that. He wouldn't suspect her of something like that.

Just like Remus would never suspect her of hurting James and Lily. That had been one of Tom's worse ideas. The funny thing was that if he'd just asked her to kill James, she probably would have done it, Remus be damned. James was a smarmy git, no matter what Remus said. But Lily – Lily was a good witch; Katherine didn't have anything against her.

And Sirius would never have forgiven her. Remus would never have forgiven her.

So she hadn't done it. She'd taken the other option – not death, because that was just stupid. Prison. She sipped her drink and frowned. She didn't see why people were so afraid of Azkaban. It had seemed perfect to her. No Death Eater duties, no murders, no well meaning friend reminding you of what you could have been and most importantly – no Tom. Why had no one figured that out? Azkaban was the one place on earth you were safe from Voldemort, because he thought anyone foolish enough to let themselves get caught didn't deserve rescuing. Until recently anyway.

Of course on the downside there were the Dementors, but they didn't hurt so much when you'd already come to terms with the bad things in your life. Dementors could only get to you if you were insecure, and there were only two things Katherine had regrets about.

One was Remus. The other was Severus.

Not that she hadn't loved Sirius – she had. He'd made her laugh and he was charming and handsome and he cared about her and she _had_ loved him. It was just that he wasn't Severus. He was a Gryffindor, and even though she knew there wasn't all that much difference between the Houses, it still mattered.

"Man trouble?" asked a slender woman beside her, with a long suffering grin.

"Something like that," murmured Katherine, tearing her gaze away from Sirius' ring. The woman drained a shot glass and ordered another. Katherine watched her curiously, wondering why she looked so familiar. Something about that bob of black hair and those eyes, so dark green they might have been black as well. Severus had eyes like that. Severus hated her right now. She hated him too. Funny that she couldn't remember why.

"Forget him, he's not worth it," advised the woman, not sounding at all drunk, despite the row of glasses in front of her. Katherine guessed she did this a lot.

"He's dead," said Katherine absently. _And well out of it_, she added silently.

"Wish my husband was dead," muttered the woman with surprising violence.

"That could be arranged," smiled Katherine. The woman stopped and took a good look at her for the first time. Not that it did a lot of use. All she saw was a well worn woman in her late thirties, with chestnut brown hair and eyes the colour of oak leaves. Katherine hadn't thought it a good idea to go into a wizard bar with her usual face on. Even so, the woman frowned, as though she was adding two and two and kept coming up with five.

She held out a hand. "I'm Ophelia Corbelle. My husband's a cheating arse who spends more time off gallivanting with his twenty year old secretaries than at home with me." She raised a glass in mock toast. "Hope you're having fun, Danny boy."

Katherine gazed at her, an odd expression on her face. Ophelia? Was this Severus' cousin? She looked the same, granted, albeit old beyond her years. She couldn't be more than thirty, which was nothing in wizarding terms, where you could expect to live to an average of a hundred and fifty.

But somehow Katherine couldn't make this image fit with the sweet little five year old who'd begged Severus to stay home and read her stories instead of going to the pub with his mates. She shook her head and stood up, suddenly feeling old. _Tempus fugit. Time flies..._

"You're going?" asked Ophelia, glancing up at her.

"For now," answered Katherine, thinking of the man in Robert's living room. Daniel Corbelle, he had said. It had to be the same person. "Don't worry, I'm sure we'll meet again."

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name," said Ophelia, looking curiously up at her.

"That," said Katherine grimly, "would be because I didn't give it. Good night Ophelia. Say hello to Severus for me."


	13. I'm ok, honestly

**A/N:** Before you read this chapter, it might be worth pointing out that Katherine has consumed a lot of alcohol in the past twelve hours and is ever so slightly drunk. This should account for why she does things she probably wouldn't do if she was sober. It's not a major issue, but just bear it in mind. I don't want you thinking she's behaving out of character...

Oh yes, and since the revelations of HBP, Julian and Ophelia's surname is now Lloyd, not Snape.

x – X – x

**Chapter 12 – I'm ok, honestly...**

Katherine closed the door to Nicki's house softly, listening intently. After a moment's hesitation, she decided her friend had probably not waited up to find out where she'd been. Katherine smiled faintly; she highly doubted that Nicki gave a toss what she got up to, as long as she didn't get caught.

Katherine was about to creep up the stairs when she heard a noise come from a room down the hall, the kind of noise that might be made by someone knocking something off a table, then catching it before it hit the ground. Frowning, she pulled out her wand and slipped out of her shoes, so they wouldn't clatter on the smooth tiled floor.

She walked softly past the morning room and paused outside the second door on the left, which she knew led to the lounge, listening. Silence met her ears and she frowned again. She'd sneaked around enough houses to know that that was the kind of silence people made when they didn't want to be heard. Hell, she'd been the one making it for a vast majority of the time.

She glanced behind her at the moonlight streaming through the hall windows and cast a simple fog spell to blot it out; it wouldn't do to be silhouetted in the doorway. That was the sort of mistake that got amateurs killed. Cautiously, she turned the doorknob and pushed. The door swung open to reveal a large room, barely discernible in the dark. Someone had shut all the curtains; now that was odd. Katherine peered into the dim room, straining her eyes to pick up the smallest hint of movement, but saw nothing. Besides, there were plenty of hiding places, even if someone was there. And there was the small alcove along the wall to her right – she wouldn't be able to see in there unless she actually stepped inside the room.

She stood still for a while, concentrating hard. Everyone had to breathe, and breathing made noise, especially when you were trying to be quiet. It only took a minute to locate the shallow breathing – there, to her right. Probably concealed in the alcove. As quietly as possible, she sidled into the room, keeping close to the wall with her wand raised at head height.

There was a white leather sofa in the alcove and Katherine could just about make out a dark shape perched there, body tense, facing her way. _Definitely not Nic. She would have said something by now._ Whoever it was, they didn't seem to have seen her. Not yet anyway.

_Lumos_ she thought, and a jet of white light streamed from her wand, shining directly into the wide eyes of the intruder. The figure leapt up, diving towards her and causing them both to fall to the floor. After a brief scuffle, Katherine's wand was knocked away and she felt the tip of the stranger's wand pressed against her throat. The stranger was kneeling over her, trapping her arms next to her side.

Katherine stared up into a dark face, faintly outlined against the lighter blackness of the room. Suddenly a light flared on and Katherine screwed up her eyes against the painful glare.

"Oh honestly," sighed a very familiar voice. "I should have known better than to leave you two to your own devices."

Katherine twisted her head towards the door where the voice had come from and saw Nicki standing there, red dressing gown loosely tied at the waist, hands on hips. She was looking appraisingly at Katherine and...whoever was sitting on top of her. She glanced up and saw a pair of impossibly dark green eyes staring back down at her.

"Katherine?"

x – X – x

Ophelia waited anxiously outside the huge oaken door that marked the entrance to the Lloyd Manor. She wrapped her cloak tighter around herself and glanced at her watch. 4am. Any minute now...

The crunch of gravel announced the arrival of the master of the house and Ophelia stood up, peering into the darkness beyond the light of the front porch. She could see a figure approaching, gradually becoming recognisable as they drew nearer to the house. Abruptly, the sound of footsteps stopped and Ophelia looked down into a pair of amber eyes that were studying her critically.

"Morning Julian," she said softly, attempting a smile. Julian frowned slightly, but continued up the steps and opened the front door where he was immediately met by an obsequious house elf, bowing low whilst simultaneously relieving it's master of his cloak and scarf. It disappeared as Julian turned around and surveyed his sister with angry eyes. Ophelia looked away, even though she knew the anger wasn't directed at her.

"What's he done?"

"I didn't come about Daniel," said Ophelia quietly, slipping off her cloak and folding it over one arm. "I came about Severus, or rather, well...someone asked about him."

Julian frowned, pushing open a door on his left and going in. Ophelia followed him and was glad to find a roaring fire in the grate and a couple of black leather armchairs. She sank into one thankfully, and glanced up at her brother who was standing beside the fireplace.

"Who was asking?"

"A woman. In a pub."

Julian's frown deepened and he glanced over at her. "What woman?"

"I don't know. I've never seen her before," said Ophelia, trying to shake the feeling that she was lying, because she hadn't ever seen the woman before. It was just...maybe the voice...?

"Not a pure blood then?" asked Julian, one eyebrow cocked in inquiry.

"No, but...she acted like one. Like she'd been brought up around our kind," mused Ophelia. "And she offered to kill Daniel."

"I like her already," remarked Julian, a grim smile on his lips.

"She was being serious," said Ophelia evenly. Julian frowned at her, his amber eyes glowing gold in the firelight.

"Serious?"

"I think so. Certainly sounded it," agreed Ophelia.

"And she asked about Severus?" inquired Julian, coming to sit in the chair opposite his younger sister.

"I think her exact words were _'Say hello to Severus for me'_," recalled Ophelia, her eyes almost black in the dim room.

"Not Snape," commented Julian, running a hand through his short hair. "So she knows him."

"But that's just it," frowned Ophelia. "Severus doesn't know any women. Apart from his old class mates, I suppose, but I'd have recognised them. Besides, what would they be doing in a pub at three in the morning?"

"Or more importantly, what were _you_ doing in a pub at three in the morning?" countered Julian, meeting his sister's gaze sternly. "If Daniel-"

"I can handle him," said Ophelia tonelessly. "I should count myself lucky. Many girls would kill to have my lifestyle."

Julian was silent for a moment, idly summoning a glass and a bottle of whisky from a sideboard, and pouring himself a nightcap. He didn't offer one to his sister; she'd had quite enough already. "You were going to be a lawyer," he said after a while. "Before you married Daniel."

"Marriage is about compromise, remember?" said Ophelia, smiling dryly. "That's what you always tell Tanya."

"That's different," shrugged Julian. "She's my wife, you're my sister. And I don't go out having affairs with anything in a skirt."

"That's _because_ you're married to Tanya," put in Ophelia, only half joking. "It'd be hard to find anyone worth it. Besides, you know I can't leave Daniel. Mother would have a fit. His family is very influential-"

"We don't need him anymore," said Julian darkly. "Dear cousin Severus is the Dark Lord's right hand man once again. That's all the influence we're ever going to need. Which reminds me, Kitten's back."

Ophelia stared at him blankly for a moment, then her eyes widened slightly in surprise. "The papers were telling the truth?"

"I know, shocking isn't it?" remarked Julian dryly, draining the rest of his whisky and setting the glass down.

"Be serious, Julian," reprimanded Ophelia.

"I was," objected Julian, though he smiled slightly. "Deadly."

"So she's alive?"

"Yes. Free as a bird."

"How on earth did she manage that?"

Julian chuckled darkly. "You know, I asked Severus that earlier."

"And what did he say?"

"He said he didn't have a clue."

"What about the Aurors? Do they know?"

"I shouldn't think so," said Julian, sighing heavily. "They keep asking us to triple check Floo network activity over the past month, and look for unlicensed portkey activity and so on, but there's no trace. And she can't have apparated because she didn't have a wand. Wands aren't allowed on Azkaban. Even the new guards are using special ones from Ollivander that only work for one wizard. They were the last ones he made before he disappeared."

"So what did she do? Fly?"

"Couldn't have. The Ministry put a charm around the whole prison after Black escaped. No one can get past it without the proper authorization. We only managed to get Lestrange and the rest out because Kensington knew the spells, and like I said, Riddle didn't have a wand."

"Then it's not her," said Ophelia, stifling a yawn. "If the Dark Lord didn't get her out and she had no wand, then she can't _be_ out. There's no other form of transportation."

Julian raised an eyebrow amusedly. "She challenged the Dark Lord in front of a room full of Death Eaters. It's definitely Kitten, Lia."

"Well where is she?"

"Don't know. She went to talk with him in private. If he didn't kill her, I presume she did what she usually does after being in the same room as him."

"What's that?"

Julian smirked and glanced up, meeting his sister's questioning gaze. "Goes and gets very drunk."

x – X – x

Katherine closed her eyes, then opened them again. The green eyes hadn't gone away.

"Morning Severus," she said, sounding slightly abashed. "We've really got to stop meeting like this."

Severus stared down at her, then Nicki's words sank in and he hurriedly stood up, shaking his head.

"Um, sorry."

Katherine smiled vaguely, propping herself up on her elbows and trying to focus. "That's all right," she sighed, suddenly feeling extremely tired; it had been a very long day. She swiveled round to face Nicki. "What time is it?"

"Just gone four."

"Right, then I'm off to bed," said Katherine amiably, standing up on her third attempt. "Good night."

"Night," responded Nicki as Katherine shuffled past her. She glanced at Severus who was frowning.

"Exactly how much alcohol d'you think she's had?" he asked calmly.

"Enough to forget that she's supposed to hate you at present," shrugged Nicki, leaning on the door frame.

Severus nodded and sat down heavily on the sofa, closing his eyes. "You didn't tell me she was staying here."

"You didn't ask. Besides, I needed to get you out of that house; the Aurors were about to raid it," replied Nicki, examining a chipped fingernail critically.

"I'll find somewhere else tomorrow," muttered Severus, rubbing his eyes.

Nicki looked up sharply. "Don't be ridiculous. You're safe here for the time being. Your house is going to be under observation for weeks and they'll be searching all the hotels and B&B's. You're not going anywhere; Katherine would never forgive me."

"You just said she hated me," frowned Severus, opening his eyes and staring at his old class mate.

"I said she hated you _at present_," corrected Nicki. "She'll get over it."

"You think?"

"Yes," said Nicki firmly, dark eyes gleaming.

"Why?"

"Because she loves you, blockhead. Heavens knows why."

Severus raised an eyebrow. "That was a long time ago, Nic."

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder," recited Nicki, grinning.

"Now who's being ridiculous?"

"Still you, I'm afraid," Nicki chuckled, plunging the room into darkness with a flick of her wand. "Good night Severus. Sleep tight."

Severus sighed as he heard the door click shut and lay back on the sofa. _Women. Absolutely insane, the lot of them._ He shut his eyes and tried to relax. He drifted off about ten minutes later wondering vaguely whether he should have told Nicki about Peter...

x – X – x

_**Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry – Fifth Year**_

_Severus Snape looked up at the girl in front of him with a sceptical expression._

_"You want my help?"_

_The girl rolled her admittedly pretty blue eyes and sighed. "Yes, Snape, I want your help."_

_"Why?" asked Severus, reluctant to stray away from one syllable words._

_The girl looked vaguely amused. "Because you're fantastic at Potions, alright? And I need to make one. Need to make one up, actually."_

_Severus narrowed his dark eyes and studied the girl. She was in his year, he knew that, but she'd never spoken to him before. Why now? He frowned, unable to shake the feeling that James Potter and Sirius Black had something to do with this._

_"How do you know I'm good at Potions?" he asked, playing for more time._

_The girl raised her eyebrows, staring at him. "You're in the Slug Club, aren't you?"_

_"So are lots of other people."_

_"Not that many," shrugged the girl. "I'm not. Besides, everyone knows you're good at Potions. So will you help me?"_

_"No," said Severus shortly, closing the book he'd been reading and stuffing it into his bag._

_The girl's pleasant expression darkened slightly. "Why not?"_

_"Because I don't want to."  
_

_The girl raised a cynical eyebrow. "It's no wonder you haven't got any friends if you treat people like this. Maybe Potter and Black are right about you. You really are a loser."_

_Severus nearly turned around and hexed her right then, but stopped himself, remembering Lucius' advice. "At least I'm not a mudblood like you," he said coolly, sneering at her. "Some of us have class."_

_He turned away, heading towards the library doors, then yelped, clutching at his right arm. Three deep gashes stretched across his pale skin, red blood oozing from them and soaking into his shirt. He whirled around angrily to see the black haired girl on her feet, pointing her wand at him and looking furious._

_"I'm adopted, not muggle," she said softly, voice filled with a menace he hadn't thought she possessed. She threw a scornful glance at his bleeding arm and trained her wand on his chest. "I can do it over your heart if you want," she offered, eyes that had seemed so innocent a few minutes ago gleaming threateningly._

_"Where did you learn to do that," Severus whispered, looking at the girl properly for the first time. Ebony black hair and sapphire bright eyes. Strange combination for mud- witch. Definitely a witch. Lily Evans couldn't do magic like that. That was dark magic, stuff that wasn't taught at Hogwarts, and Severus was very interested in dark magic._

_The girl just smiled at him, her dark hair reflecting the winter sunlight that streamed through the high window._

_"Will you help me?" she asked, still not moving her wand._

_Severus considered her for a while, dark eyes thoughtful. "Do you know more of those spells?"_

_"I will."_

_"And you'll teach me them?"_

_"If you help."_

_Severus glanced down at his arm, which was still seeping blood, though it seemed to have slowed, then looked up at the girl and nodded. "I'll help."_

_The girl smiled suddenly, all trace of menace vanishing in an instant. "Good."_

_She flicked her wand and Severus felt the wounds on his arm heal, the skin knitting itself back together. He wiped some of the blood away with his other sleeve and saw three faint lines where the cuts had been, showing white against his already pale skin._

_"Just a reminder," said the girl softly, coming to stand in front of him. "They'll fade after a couple of weeks."_

_Severus looked up at her, frowning. "What's your name?" he demanded._

_The girl paused a moment, then shook her head. Five years in the same House and he didn't even know her name. Well she couldn't say she was particularly surprised; not many people knew who she was. That was about to change._

_"Katherine," she said softly. "Katherine...Riddle."_

**x – X – x**

I would just like to point out that Julian's house elf took his cloak from him; Julian didn't give it to him, so the elf isn't free. Just in case anyone had noticed that...


	14. Unlucky for some

**A/N: **Sorry I'm updating this story a little irregularly, and in answer to some people's questions, yes this will be updated as frequently on as it is on cosforums as soon as it catches up. The reason it takes longer is that I have to edit each chapter (putting in breaks) to upload it on here, and I'm editing the story very slightly as I'm going along. You're welcome to read the story on if you want (there's 34 chapters so far) or you can continue with this version, which has less mistakes. :)

Oh yes, and if there's anyone who likes the Severus-Katherine pairing, I've written an AU one shot from Severus' point of view starting in his fifth year and going through to Voldemort's downfall. If anyone wants to read it, just email me or say so in a review and I'll send you the link.

**x – X – x**

**Chapter 13 – Unlucky for some**

"Harry, Ron, wake up!" Footsteps sounded in the dark, then the curtains were flung open and the two boys blinked in the brilliant sunlight streaming in through the window.

"'Mione? What d'you want?" muttered Ron, pulling the blankets over his head. Hermione snatched them away and looked sternly down at him.

"It's nine o'clock. Get up, we've got to go see Lupin," she ordered, turning around and handing Harry his glasses.

"Why?" asked Harry, stifling a yawn.

"Because he knew Katherine Archer," answered Hermione briskly, ignoring the boys' bewildered expressions. "Now get dressed. I'll wait for you outside."

x – X – x

Ten minutes later, the trio were sitting in Ron's back garden, eating a hurried breakfast and trying not to be overheard.

"So how did you find this out exactly?" asked Ron, frowning at Hermione.

"I told you, Madam Pince let me look at the school library-"

"When was this?" injected Harry, looking puzzled.

"Yesterday, when you two were at your apparation exams," sighed Hermione.

"You said you'd waited for us!" exclaimed Ron, looking slightly hurt.

Hermione rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Well I knew it'd take a couple of hours for you to finish so I decided to spend my time doing something productive, all right? I was there when you got out, wasn't I?"

"Yeah, but-"

"Then what's the problem? Look, like I said, Madam Pince let me into the library and I found the register of Hogwarts students." She pulled a list out of her pocket and placed it on the wooden table. "Luckily her surname begins with A so I just had to skim the top of the lists of students from about 20 years ago. I copied out her year."

The boys leaned over the table to read the list, written in Hermione's neat script. Harry frowned as certain names caught his eye. "Avery, Nott, Parkinson, Rookwood, Rosier – Hermione they're all Death Eaters!"

"Actually it's Augustus Rookwood who's a Death Eater," corrected Hermione. "And Fiona Parkinson is dead. She was attacked when they were still at school."

Harry raised his eyebrows at this but Ron, used to hearing similar things from his parents, continued to study the list.

"Frank Longbottom," he read slowly. "That's Neville's dad, isn't it?"

"Yes, and Andromeda Black is Tonks' mother," remarked Hermione.

"What do these numbers mean?" asked Harry, gesturing to the scribbled digits at the bottom of the parchment.

_**G2 (+2) H3 R5 S8**_

"Well it didn't take me long to find Archer so I cross checked the list of names with newspaper articles. Only half that year are still alive, and two of those are in Saint Mungo's," said Hermione in a small voice. "Remus is the only one we know."

"And the letters?"

"They're the houses," answered Hermione.

"So eight people died in Slytherin?" asked Ron hopefully.

"No, eight people survived," said Hermione bleakly. "And only two Gryffindors are still around, Remus and Peter, not counting the Longbottoms in Saint Mungo's."

"Well that's encouraging," remarked Harry dryly. He sighed and looked up at his friends. "Right, so who knows where Lupin lives...?"

x – X – x

Remus awoke that morning in a state of confusion and it took him a while to work out where he was. Then Faye appeared in a doorway and the events of the previous night came back to him.

"Oh sorry, did I wake you?" asked Faye, looking apologetic.

"No, not at all," assured Remus, stretching and glancing at the clock above the fireplace. 9:30.

"D'you want a cup of tea?" offered Faye. "The kettle's boiling."

"Yes thanks," yawned Remus. Faye smiled and disappeared into the kitchen once more. Remus sighed, grimacing at the ache in his limbs from spending the night on a worn out sofa. An open metal box on the table caught his eye and he leant over to examine it. A white leather journal lay open next to the box, but as far as Remus could see, it was completely blank. He ignored it and peered into the depths of the box instead. A glint of silver caught his eye and he frowned, lifting the small charm bracelet up to the light so he could examine it properly.

"It's Katherine's," said Faye, re-entering the room and placing a mug of tea down in front of him. "Least, the box was under her bed, and she wrote the journal."

"I know," murmured Remus, still frowning. "I gave her this for her sixth birthday. I'm surprised she kept it."

Faye smiled gently and picked up an unsealed envelope that was lying at the bottom of the box. Remus glanced her as she opened it and slid out a selection of photographs. Faye flicked through them, then handed them to Remus. "D'you know who they are?"

"That's her adoptive parents," said Remus, indicating a photo of a smiling couple with brown hair. "Sarah and Charles. And that's the people in her House," he added, pointing out another photo of seven grim looking teenagers. Faye picked it up, noting that Remus had said people, not friends. "There's a couple of me, a few of Sirius, one of James and Lily," continued Remus, flicking through the rest. "And I suppose you recognise this one." Faye glanced at the picture he was holding up and smiled.

"Aunt Cady."

Remus nodded and frowned at the next photograph. "I can't say I know who these four are."

Faye glanced at the picture for a second, then did a double take and looked again.

"Are you all right?" asked Remus, looking concerned.

"They're Death Eaters," said Faye softly, her face pale. She pointed out a handsome blonde haired man and a taller, graver man with light brown hair. "Those were the ones that got Aunt Cady – Kelly Hunt and Simon Carr. I don't know the other two."

Remus was about to respond to this when there was a flare of green and a cloud of soot erupted from the fireplace, accompanied by muffled swearing and the sound of a number of people falling over. Remus waved his wand to clear the smoky air and looked appraisingly down at his three ex-students with some exasperation. "Harry, Ron, Hermione," he nodded. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

x – X – x

"Shouldn't you be at work, or something?" asked Severus, studying Nicola over a strong cup of coffee. Nicola glanced up at him from the fridge and shook her head.

"It's my day off."

"Monday?"

Nicola shrugged, pouring herself a glass of orange juice. "Aurors work a seven day week and weekends are usually busy, so I take Monday & Tuesday off."

"Fair enough," murmured Severus, staring into the depths of his coffee cup. Suddenly, the kitchen door swung open violently and Katherine appeared, frantically pulling her hair into a ponytail and glaring at Severus.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded as Severus frowned at her shabby appearance. She was still wearing the same clothes she'd had on the previous day and her eyeliner was smudged.

"Ah, I was wondering how long it would take for the alcohol to wear off," sighed Severus, but Katherine glowered at him and grabbed his shoulder.

"What happened to your house?" she demanded again.

"Aurors raided it," answered Nicola, frowning at her friend. "I got him out before-"

"So _where's Peter_?" hissed Katherine, her gaze fixed on Severus.

"Peter?" asked Nicola in a puzzled voice. "Who's Peter?"

"You left him in there, didn't you?" said Katherine, narrowing her eyes.

"There wasn't time to get him out," answered Severus calmly, giving her an odd look. "Why does it matter?"

"Because Remus hates you enough already," snarled Katherine, looking furious. "He's actually going to kill you if he finds out that for the best part of last year you were harbouring the man who helped destroy his life."

"I can look after myself," shrugged Severus, twisting free of Katherine's grip.

Katherine arched a sceptical eyebrow. "Have you ever actually seen Remus angry, Severus? Really angry? Because when he finds you, you're going to think that that thing you saw in fifth year was a fluffy little bunny rabbit in comparison."

"What thing?" asked Nicola, walking over to the table and sitting down opposite Severus. "What happened in fifth year?"

"Where does Remus live?" Katherine asked her, ignoring the question.

"Why?" asked Nicola, guardedly. "You're not going to do something stupid are you?"

"I'm going to try and get to him before he finds out Peter's been arrested from someone else. Now where is he? You showed him into Auror HQ yesterday and I know his address is on that card he carries, so...?"

"Um, somewhere in Brixton I think-"

"Brixton?" Katherine looked incredulously at her friend. "He's living in Brixton when we own a flat in Mayfair?"

Nicola shrugged. "He's your friend, you talk some sense into him. And if you can't use your legendary ingenuity to find him you're not the woman I thought you were."

"You haven't done a very good job of narrowing down the search area," said Katherine acidly. "And people are going to twig something's amiss if I start using magic."

"Katherine, this is London you're talking about. It's full of weird people," reminded Nicki, sighing. "Trust me, no one will notice."

"Fine," relented Katherine, distractedly pulling her hair out of its ponytail and conjuring a black trilbie from thin air. Severus glanced up at her as she put it on, the rim casting a shadow over her eyes, and held her gaze for a moment. "Daniel Corbelle," she said quietly, throwing Severus for a moment. "Is he one of ours?"

"Ophelia's husband?" asked Severus in surprise. He was about to question her as to how she knew about him, but thought better of it. The chances of him getting a straight answer were slim to none. "No, he's not one of ours."

"Does he want to be?"

"I don't think so."

Katherine smiled grimly. "Good, I'll recommend him to Dad. See you later," she added, waving a hand vaguely at Nicola. She strode out of the room, grabbing her coat from the hall on the way and a moment later they heard the door slam.

Nicola met Severus gaze and raised her eyebrows. "Right," she said, taking a deep breath. "Now d'you mind explaining what the _hell_ all that was about...?"

x – X – x

Remus waited, arms folded, as the three teenagers looked sheepishly up at him.

"We didn't mean to-" began Hermione at the same time as Harry said: "You knew Katherine Archer."

There was a crash from behind him and four pairs of eyes turned to see Faye blushing as she picked up a metal box that had fallen on the floor. "Sorry," she said quietly, scooping the contents of the box up hurriedly and placing it back on the table.

"You missed this," said Hermione, picking a tattered white envelope from where it lay, partially hidden under the sofa. "Oh – sorry!" she gasped as a flurry of photographs fell out and fluttered to the floor.

"No, let me," interjected Faye hastily, as Hermione bent to pick them up.

"No, it's my fault," apologised Hermione, kneeling on the worn carpet. Faye gave her a brittle smile and stuffed the majority of the photos back into the envelope, trying not to seem too relieved that Hermione hadn't paid any attention to the subjects of the pictures.

"Are these yours?" asked Harry quietly. Faye glanced up and saw to her horror that he had a photograph in his hand. _Please don't let it be Katherine..._

"Mine?" asked Faye, glancing desperately at Remus. The boy's vivid emerald gaze didn't flicker as she got to her feet, holding the envelope tightly in her hands. "Uh-"

"Only Fleur implied you to went to Beauxbaton," continued Harry, as Ron and Hermione looked curiously at the photo he held.

"Isn't that Sirius?" asked Ron, frowning. Harry looked up, flipping the photograph over and gazing directly at Remus.

"Isn't that Archer?" he asked, with a touch of accusation in his voice. Remus opened his mouth, then closed it again, not knowing quite how he was going to explain this.

"Can't be, can it," said Ron, looking uncertainly at Faye, as though trying to convince himself it was her in photograph. "Can it?" he asked, glancing at Remus.

A knock at the door interrupted Remus' reply and he sighed. "Wait here." He hurried out into the small hallway and pulled the door open an inch, leaving the chain across it. "Yes?"

The stranger turned around and raised the rim of their hat slightly. "Have you read the paper?"

Remus stared at his errant friend for a moment, then said in a comparatively calm voice. "Katherine, you do know there's an entire fleet of Aurors out looking for you, right?"

"Yeah," said Katherine, though Remus wasn't sure she'd quite grasped the gravity of the situation from her flippant tone of voice. "Anyway - the paper?"

"No, I haven't seen one yet. Why?" asked Remus irritably, then continued quickly. "No, forget that, you do realise you haven't made any effort to conceal your appearance, don't you?"

"I could care less at this precise moment," sighed Katherine, rubbing her temples. "Can I come in."

"Definitely not," answered Remus firmly, frowning at his friend. Something about the stance and the way she was squinting in the sunlight was very familiar... "Katherine, are you _hungover_?"

Katherine glanced up at him, scowling. "Would it matter if I was?"

"Remus, who is it?" called Faye from the lounge, her tone implying that she needed his help.

"Double glazing salesman," answered Katherine immediately, in Remus' own voice. Remus stared at her, and she grinned. "Well lying doesn't come naturally to you, does it? Thought I'd better help you out."

"Right," muttered Remus, stepping outside and pulling the door to behind him. "What are you doing here, Katherine?"

"Or more to the point, what is my cousin doing here at ten o'clock in the morning?" asked Katherine cheerfully. "I mean, when I said she should see you for duelling lessons, I meant next weekend, but you're obviously both very keen-"

"Nothing happened!"

Katherine arched a sceptical eyebrow. "You're telling me she stayed the night at your place and-"

"-I was the perfect gentlemen," filled in Remus.

Katherine gazed at him thoughtfully for a moment. "You idiot."

Remus scowled. "Katherine, I love Tonks."

"Yeah, and you're old enough to be-"

"You think I don't know that?" asked Remus exasperatedly. "But you can't help who you fall in love with. You're living proof of that."

"So you're going to tell Tonks?" asked Katherine innocently, tilting her head to one side and smiling sweetly at him.

"Do I need to?"

"Now now, Rem. That's not a very good start to a relationship, is it? You can't lie to your girlfriend. They always find out, believe me."

"Mr Lupin?"

Katherine and Remus turned around to see two men in black suits and sunglasses walking towards them along the open aired balcony that connected the flats on Remus' floor.

"Sunglasses in this weather?" muttered Katherine in a low voice. Remus shot a warning glance at her, then turned to the men.

"Yes?" he ventured, as Katherine cast a dubious look at the strangers.

"Could we have a private word?" asked the second of the two men with a brief smile, as they stopped in front of Remus.

"No," cut in Katherine, pushing the rim of her hat up to reveal her face and smiling dangerously at them. "Now bugger off before what happened to Kensington happens to you." The two men stood frozen for a moment, apparently weighing up their options. Katherine reached out calmly and pulled the dark glasses off the nearest man. "I don't make idle threats, Rochester, you know that."

"Miss Riddle, I didn't see y-" Rochester glanced nervously at his companion, then back at Katherine who was still smiling disconcertingly. "Um, sorry, Miss Riddle."

"Good. Now toddle off and tell Alex to try harder next time," commanded Katherine, tossing his glasses back at him.

"Yes, Miss Riddle," mumbled Rochester, grabbing his associate and hurrying away, back the way he'd come.

"Alex?" asked Remus, frowning at her.

"Alex McKenzie. Red hair, got a twin brother called James. They used to be in our year. She's trying to prove I didn't kill Faye. They must have found out she was here," mused Katherine, eyeing the two Death Eater's retreating backs dubiously.

"Faye? But they asked to talk to me."

"So they could get inside," explained Katherine absently.

"And you know this how?"

Katherine glanced at him, grinning. "Legilimens – don't look at me like that, I only promised I wouldn't use it on you."

"Hmm..."

"Hey don't complain, it's your fault for leaving me a loophole." She smiled at his disapproving expression and adjusted her hat. "And don't worry about Alex, Rem, she doesn't know about you."

"Well that's something I suppose," sighed Remus, glancing at his watch. He'd been talking to Katherine for five minutes. The trio were probably getting suspicious by now.

"Right. It's Bella you should be looking out for," agreed Katherine, leaning on the balcony and gazing out over the grimy rooftops of Brixton.

"Lestrange?" asked Remus, staring at her with wide eyes.

"He married her?" asked Katherine absently. "Yes, Bellatrix Lestrange. She's the one that asked Kensington to call you in. Didn't I say?"

_"No."_

Katherine glanced over her shoulder, her face the picture of innocence. "Oh don't look so scared, Rem. She hasn't got that many groupies any more. They all think she's a lunatic and Azkaban certainly took her looks, if not her mind, so she can't win people over on that score anymore."

"That's supposed to make me feel better is it?" asked Remus, coming to stand beside her. "That only people who are crazy enough to bow to Bellatrix's command are coming after me?"

"Crazy people make mistakes," answered Katherine reasonably.

"_All_ Death Eaters are crazy," hissed Remus, pointedly.

"Yeah, but I made sure all the smart ones owed me their lives years ago," said Katherine, giving him a sly grin. "They'd follow me anywhere because they know I'm crazy enough to get them out again."

Remus frowned, but was prevented from commenting on this by the sudden scream from inside his apartment. He and Katherine exchanged looks for a moment, then he dived inside, pulling his wand out as he went. Katherine watched him go, then turned and peered over the balcony again. Far below, two figures in dark suits were emerging from the bottom of the block of flats and heading across the street. _**Rule No. 1:** Never drop a shield charm when you're standing in front of a Death Eater..._


	15. No one likes Mondays

**Chapter 14 – No one likes Mondays**

Remus flung back the door to the small lounge just as Ron reached it, pushing Hermione before him. Harry stood behind them, facing the intruder with his wand out. "Get away from her!"

Remus frowned at Harry's words, then realisation dawned – Faye must be on the other side of the room, blocked from sight by the man with matted grey hair.

"Harry, get out of here," he ordered, stepping past Ron and Hermione, into the room. Harry glanced over his shoulder at him, but did not move. The intruder however, did turn around, and when he did, it sent shivers down Remus' spine.

It was Fenrir Greyback.

"Well well well. Remus Lupin. So you are in. Your friends implied otherwise." Fenrir's yellowish eyes roamed over the younger man, sizing him up. "Going to duel me, are you? Fight for your girl?"

"She's not my girl," said Remus, then wondered why he had. Perhaps it was because of what Katherine had insinuated earlier, perhaps because it was true.

"Really?" Fenrir raised an eyebrow. "Then you won't mind me taking her." He reached out and grabbed Faye, pulling her inbetween himself and Remus. "Should have hexed me when you had the chance," he snarled. He twisted his head round to examine Faye's terrified face. "Not very smart, that one, is he?"

Behind Remus, Hermione gave a stifled cry, but he barely registered it. All he could think about was Faye. "Let her go."

Fenrir glanced up, tilting his head to one side and smiling nastily. "Why?"

"Because if you don't release her within the next ten seconds, I _will_ kill you."

Remus started at the voice and turned around to see Katherine standing in the doorway, glowering up at Fenrir from beneath the shadows of her hat. Behind her, Remus could see Hermione clutching at Ron's arm nervously. Fenrir gave Katherine an odd look as Faye squirmed in his strong arms.

"Have we met?"

"I doubt it. I would have remembered the smell," remarked Katherine in the same intense voice that went way beyond furious and fell just short of lunacy. Remus could only stare at her, amazed at her ability to be sarcastic in even the most serious of situations.

"You think compliments like that are going to make me want to let your friend go?" snarled Fenrir.

"She's not my friend, she's my cousin," said Katherine darkly. "Five seconds."

Fenrir laughed, tightening his arm around Faye and holding her like a shield. "Give it your best shot," he challenged, baring his yellow teeth.

Katherine raised her wand and shot a spell in his direction before Remus could stop her. The spell sunk into Faye and she promptly disappeared, leaving Fenrir grasping empty air.

"What the-?" He glared at Katherine who gazed solemnly back at him.

"I did warn you," she stated matter-of-factly, flicking her wand again. Fenrir abruptly slammed into the opposite wall, clutching at this throat.

"Katherine, don't..." For a moment, Remus thought his friend was going to ignore him, but then she dropped the gasping Fenrir. "Where's Faye?"

"Hogwarts. Where she should have been in the first place," answered Katherine, voice still terse. "D'you know him?" She made a brief gesture towards Fenrir who was bent over, trying to catch his breath.

"Fenrir Greyback. One of yours."

"One of mine?" asked Katherine, looking sharply at Remus. "He works for Tom?"

Remus nodded. "You didn't know?"

"He's a _werewolf_!" exclaimed Katherine. "Tom doesn't employ werewolves."

"That was twenty years ago, Katherine. Things change," said Remus hollowly, avoiding her gaze. On the floor, Fenrir was getting to his feet.

"Who _are_ you?" he snarled, glowering at Katherine and rubbing his throat.

"Don't you read the papers?" asked Katherine caustically. Fenrir's yellow eyes narrowed.

"It's you, isn't it? From-"

A pointed cough from Remus later, Fenrir was out cold. Katherine glanced at her friend and Remus thought he saw an apologetic look on her face before she turned her wand on him.

"Katherine..?" he said warily, keeping one eye on Harry, whose bewildered expression was starting to turn into anger.

"Lupin," replied Katherine blankly, and Remus was surprised to find himself shocked by the cold, blank expression on her face. _So this is your other face, is it? The one you use when you work for your father? No wonder you've got a perfect track record. Anyone looking into those eyes is going to lose any hope of escape in an instant..._

"Get away from him!" Harry's indignant outburst brought Remus sharply back to the present.

"Harry, this isn't what it looks like," he began, before realising just how stupid that sounded. He was in his flat, with photographs of known Death Eaters scattered over the table, a psychopathic rogue werewolf unconscious against one wall and a Wanted criminal pointing her wand at his chest. What on earth was it _supposed_ to look like? He sighed, suddenly very angry. How did Katherine manage to turn even the most innocent situation into a tangled web of deceit that he was always left to try and unravel in her wake. Well he'd had enough...

Scowling, he reached out and grabbed her wand, giving her a look that could have curdled milk.

"Hey!" protested Katherine, trying to snatch it back, the blank mask evaporating instantly.

"What d'you think you're playing at?" he hissed, holding the wand out of her reach. "D'you want to get killed?"

Katherine gave Harry an incredulous look and shook her head. "No, I was _trying_ not to make it look as though you were associating with a mass murderer, but I think it's safe to say that that illusion is effectively ruined," retorted Katherine, glaring at him and snatching her wand back.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I think they probably twigged something was up when you sauntered in and smashed Greyback against the wall," countered Remus, glaring back.

"You two know each other?" ventured a small voice from the doorway. Remus glanced around to see Hermione staring at him, her brown eyes wide.

He frowned at her, confused. "I thought you knew that."

"We knew you were in the same year," said Ron nervously, gaze flickering from Remus to Katherine and back again. "We didn't know you were..." He trailed off, watching Katherine apprehensively.

Remus closed his eyes, praying this was just some kind of horrible nightmare he was having trouble waking up from. He opened his eyes when he heard Katherine laugh, and turned his head to give her a questioning look. She grinned and flopped down onto the crumbling sofa, looking up at him belligerently.

"Talk your way out of this one," she challenged, leaning back and turning her gaze on Harry who was looking from her to Remus and back again with distinct unease. She cocked her head to one side and gave Harry an odd smile which he returned with a glare.

Remus stared at her, then shook his head. Definitely not a nightmare. He didn't have enough imagination to conjure up someone like Katherine. He turned to Harry, but James' son wasn't looking at him, he was scowling down at the woman on the sofa, fists clenched. In his right hand, he held his wand. In his left, he held...a photograph. Alarm bells starting ringing far too late in Remus' head. "Harry-"

"What did you to Sirius?"

Katherine, who'd been fiddling with something on her finger glanced up at Harry, her eyes suddenly guarded. "What?" Harry thrust the photo out towards her and she sat up, frowning at it. "Where did you get that?" she asked softly, eyes narrowing dangerously.

"It's mine," said Remus quickly, stepping between them.

"Yours?" Katherine gave him a cynical look, and Remus didn't miss the faint trace of amusement in her voice that told him she knew he was lying. "Remus, why in heaven's name would you have a picture of Reg?"

There was a long pause, then Remus looked at her, really looked at her. She was being serious. "Reg?" he asked, disconcerted.

Katherine shook her head and sighed, leaning back into the worn sofa and gazing up at the ceiling. "Yes, Remus. Regulus. Sirius' brother, remember?"

And Remus did. Vaguely. It had been such a long time ago...

Katherine looked sharply at him. "I don't know who'd be more horrified – Sirius, for being mistaken for his considerably less handsome brother, or Reg, for being mistaken for a blood traitor."

Remus turned his attention to the picture which Harry still held loosely in one hand. The boy in the picture grinned and made a charming gesture with his fingers. Remus scowled as the sixteen year old Katherine laughed, arms clasped around the boy's neck in a tight hug.

"He is wearing a Slytherin badge, you know," said Katherine softly. "It's not Sirius." Remus glanced up, before realising the remark wasn't addressed to him. Harry was just gazing at her, confusion competing with anger and fear for precedence on his face. "Reg was in fourth year then, I was in sixth, and from the looks of it we were both very, very drunk."

"Regulus Black," said Harry, a strange note in his voice. "Sirius told me about him once. He said he was a Death Eater. He said Voldemort killed him."

"He was. And yes, Voldemort ordered Trix to dispose of him," answered Katherine, though something in her eyes gave Remus the distinct impression she wasn't being entirely truthful on that last point. Remus knew Katherine well enough to know she very rarely actually _lied_, but he also knew she compensated for that by either refusing to answer or withholding information that wasn't asked for. Just like she was doing now.

"Why?" questioned Harry, holding her gaze. Katherine tilted her head to one side and considered him.

"Why the sudden interest? He died before you were born."

"Sirius never knew. He thought he got in too deep and tried to back out. Is that true?"

Katherine was silent for a long time, then shook her head. "Reg never ran away from his problems."

Harry looked down at the photo in his hand, looking slightly lost, but Remus hardly noticed. He was more interested in the way Katherine had paused before answering. She didn't do that unless she was hiding something. She looked up at that moment, catching Remus' grim expression and raised an eyebrow challengingly. Remus gave her an appraising look. _Right, Kat. Now say that again and this time fill in the gaps._

A movement to his right made him look around. Hermione was standing by the table, holding a sheet of paper in her hands.

"What was Regulus' middle name?" she asked softly, gazing at the paper as though it held the secrets of the universe.

Katherine's brow furrowed, distrust flickering in her eyes. Remus noticed she'd never let go of her wand.

"What is this? Twenty questions? Why do you want to know about Regulus?" She glanced at Remus, who shrugged. He'd forgotten about Regulus. Sirius had never talked about him, except when he'd had rather too much to drink and was feeling down, and Remus hadn't seen the younger Black since he'd left school over two decades ago. He hadn't the faintest idea why the trio were so interested in him.

Hermione raised her gaze from the parchment and looked Katherine squarely in the eye. "Do you know his middle name?"

Katherine folded her arms, ignoring Ron who'd moved to stand protectively by Hermione's side. "You're Hermione Granger, aren't you?" she asked, surprising Remus who hadn't realised she'd heard of her.

"Yes," said Hermione, a little uncertainly. There was something a little disconcerting about having a notorious murderer knowing your name, especially when you happened to be a muggleborn and therefore a prime target.

"Top of your year? Having a steamy love affair with Boy-Wonder here and an International Quidditch star at the same time?"

Hermione stared at her, cheeks flushing scarlet. "I was _not_."

"Ah, just one of them, then," nodded Katherine, and Remus could have sworn she smirked at Ron who was looking furious. Remus caught her eye and she smiled pleasantly at him before glancing back at Hermione. "Octavian."

"What?" asked Hermione distractedly.

"Reg's middle name - it was Octavian. Regulus Octavian Black," elaborated Katherine, looking thoughtfully at Hermione. "Why did you want to know?"

"I..." Hermione shook her head and held out the piece of paper she'd been holding. "Is this yours?"

Katherine sat up to get a better look, then snatched it out of Hermione's hand, glowering at her. "What are you doing with this?" she asked angrily, eyes blazing.

"I - It was on the table," stammered Hermione, taking a step back. Katherine glanced down at the table, then rounded on Remus.

"It was in the flat," he said calmly, brown eyes questioning. "Faye found the box in your room. What's wrong?" He glanced at the paper, but Katherine rolled it up and tucked it inside her jacket before he could make out what was on it.

"I don't like people touching my things," she answered, still scowling, though not as deeply. Behind her, the dying embers of the fire flickered and went out. Ron blinked, staring at the fireplace.

"What is it?" asked Harry, frowning at him.

"The flames..." murmured Ron, stepping forward cautiously, then pausing as he realised he was heading towards Katherine. "They were...blue."

Harry raised an eyebrow at the smoking charcoal. "Ron, there aren't any flam-" He was cut off abruptly as Katherine grabbed him by his collar and flung him across the room, towards Remus.

_"Run,"_ she hissed, casting a shield charm with her wand.

Remus didn't need telling twice. If Katherine thought it necessary to construct a defence spell, then things were very, _very_ bad. Remus caught hold of Harry and pushed him before him out of the flat, Ron and Hermione close on his heels.

"Head for the stairs," he ordered, pointing to the staircase at the end of the long passageway.

"But we can appar-" began Harry, but Remus shook his head violently, knowing he didn't have enough time to explain properly, but resigned to the fact that he'd have to try.

"Katherine said run, not go. If you apparate, they'll be able to track you. You have to go on foot."

The trio were giving him sceptical looks, but at that moment Katherine burst out of the door, sporting a deep gash across one cheek, a metal box clutched under one arm. She grabbed Remus' arm and tugged him along the walkway, towards the stairs. After a slight pause, the trio hurried after them.

"Who-?" asked Remus, then broke off as Katherine stopped, tightening her grip on his arm. He looked ahead and saw another group of Death Eaters clustered at the top of the stairs. "The service lift," he said quietly, gesturing discreetly to a stained pair of metallic doors set midway along the walkway. Katherine nodded and pushed the box into his arms.

"Go up," she said softly, meeting his gaze. "Trust me," she added, as he frowned dubiously. Then she turned, smiled sweetly at the advancing Death Eaters and launched herself forward, transforming at the same time. Remus seized Harry's arm and pulled him forwards too, jabbing at the call button for the elevator. The door hissed open and he bundled the trio inside, hesitating only momentarily before pressing the button for the top floor.

The doors closed slowly as the screams started outside, then the lift jerked and started it's ascent. The silence in the confined space stretched out, punctuated by the creaking of the neglected mechanism as they rose.

"She's an animagus?" asked Hermione softly, after a while.

"Not exactly," muttered Remus, rubbing his eyes. This was turning into one of the worst Monday's of his life, and that was saying something.

"Why are we going up?" asked Ron, surveying Remus nervously.

"Because she told me to go up," answered Remus. "And when Katherine tells you to do something, you do it." He cast a cautious glance at Harry. The black haired boy was strangely quiet. He stood apart from the others, as far as it is possible to do so in the restricted space in an elevator, and he kept looking at the photograph in his hand. No, not photograph - _photographs..._ There was the one of Katherine and Regulus, but the other one...the other one Remus remembered. Harry looked up and emerald eyes searched Remus' for answers.

"You didn't just know each other did you," Harry said quietly, and Remus knew it wasn't meant as a question. "You were friends." Remus looked helplessly at him as Harry's eyes hardened. "And then she betrayed you. She tried to kill my parents..."

"Harry, no-" started Remus, but at that moment the lift shuddered to a stop, the doors slid open and the world intruded once more. As they stepped out of the lift, Remus turned to Harry. "You've got to trust her."

"Why?" challenged Harry angrily.

"Because you haven't got any other choice," sighed Remus. "And you really don't want her as an enemy."

"I've already got Voldemort as an enemy," retorted Harry. "How much worse can she be?"

"Much," said Remus firmly. "Because you're of no consequence to her and she won't wait for an audience before killing you. If she doesn't like you, she'll just kill you and have done with it."

"She didn't kill Greyback," said Hermione, shivering slightly in the icy breeze. "She didn't kill him because you asked her not to."

Remus looked at Hermione and it hit him again how very smart she was for her age. Harry was lucky to have her on his side.

"She owes me," shrugged Remus, glancing along a walkway that was almost identical to his own, many floors below. At the end of this one, however, there was a battered looking door. He headed towards it and the trio followed him, having little other option.

"Owes you what?" asked Hermione as Remus forced the door open, revealing a dark set of stairs that must lead to the roof.

"Her sanity," replied Remus grimly, climbing the short flight of steps and kicking the next door open, then stopping abruptly. There was already someone up on the roof and it wasn't Katherine. A man with a sharp, aristocratic face and jet black hair that glinted in the morning sunlight smiled silkily at them.

"Good morning," he said in a quiet voice, that nevertheless carried across the flat roof. "Can I help you?"

**x – X – x**

Reviews are most welcome. As are theories on who it is. ;)


	16. Damage Limitation

**A/N:** Some people would say two cliffies in a row is cruel.

I am one of those people.

Won't stop me though.

Enjoy. ;)

**x – X – x**

**Chapter 15 – Damage Limitation**

Remus stared at the man, the steel box Katherine had given to him still clutched in his arms. He was half considering throwing the box at the stranger and making a run for it, when there was a scrabbling noise and Katherine herself appeared over the side of the building, looking considerably worse for wear. She gave him a half hearted grin and stretched, before her eye fell on the roof's other occupant.

She paused mid-stretch, gazing at the man, but didn't reach for her wand. Remus hoped this was because she knew the man and not because she'd lost it in the fight.

"Ju?"

The man smiled, though Remus could detect little warmth in it.

"Kitten."

Katherine's eyes narrowed and her arms fell to her sides. "I told you not to call me that."

"You told me not to do a lot of things," remarked the man, smirking in a way that looked suspiciously familiar to Remus. "Things which you subsequently went and did yourself."

"Did I ever call myself Kitten?" asked Katherine, arching an eyebrow.

"You called yourself Kat. I'd say that was near enough."

Katherine shook her head and sighed. "You sound just like your cousin."

"Is that a compliment or an insult?" asked Julian, gazing at Katherine mildly.

"Depends on what you think of him," shrugged Katherine, folding her arms. "What you doing here, Julian?"

"Robert saw some unusual activity on the Floo network and he sent me to check things out. I was going to step in but you seemed to be having so much fun on your own," answered Julian, barely concealing a grin.

Katherine looked down at her spell singed arms and torn jeans sceptically, then back at Julian. "Oh yes, great fun." Shaking her head, she looked at Remus. "Are you all right?"

"Fine," nodded Remus, casting a questioning glance at Julian.

"Oh, this is Julian. He's a…friend of mine," explained Katherine. "He won't kill you."

"I won't?"

"Not if you don't want to die, you won't," said Katherine firmly.

"What about Potter?" asked Julian nonchalantly, gold eyes glittering. Behind Remus, the trio drew closer together, wands gripped tightly in their hands.

"No."

Julian looked almost surprised. "No? Why not?"

Katherine smiled dangerously at him. "Because I said so."

Julian arched an eyebrow. "You hate the parents, but not the son?"

"Hadn't you better get back to work?" asked Katherine, suddenly impatient.

"Robert's head of department," shrugged Julian. "He's got me covered."

"Let me put that another way," said Katherine tersely. "Go back to work."

"But-"

"That was an _order_."

Julian glared at her, but shrugged his shoulders submissively. "Fine, but Robert had a message for you."

"What?"

"He did some digging on the people who broke into your flat-"

"Wait, what? Who broke into my flat?" asked Katherine, casting a curious glance at Remus.

"Lucas Dulce and David Reeves." Julian frowned. "You weren't there?"

"No."

"But someone used Number Four on Reeves. Who else knows that?"

Katherine's eyes narrowed as she stared at the younger man. "More to the point, how do _you_ know about it?"

"Robert leant me his book," answered Julian defensively.

"Hmm…" murmured Katherine, watching Remus out of the corner of her eye. "What did Robert find out?"

"They apparated to your flat from High Crest."

"Ah," grimaced Katherine. "Does he know what they took?"

"He's not sure they took anything. Dulce took Reeves straight to Saint Mungo's apparently."

"That was very charitable of him," remarked Katherine, frowning.

"You think he stayed?"

"I think he's a Slytherin. What d'you know about him?"

Julian considered this for a moment, then said slowly. "I think he stayed."

"He took a box of papers back to the Ministry," interjected Remus, remembering what Tonks had told him the day before. Katherine stared at him.

"To the-?"

"They're Aurors," clarified Remus. "Are they Death Eaters?"

"They're dead if I find them," growled Katherine darkly.

"Reeves is in a ward on Level 4 of Saint Mungo's, and Dulce is living in penthouse flat in Islington," said Julian immediately, smiling nastily. "Can't remember the exact address off the top my head but I'm sure I could track him down for you."

"Did Robert tell you that too?" asked Katherine, grinning slightly.

"No, he thought it best you didn't know. I found out because I knew you'd want to."

"She doesn't," put in Remus, suddenly looking angry. Katherine cocked an eyebrow at him and he scowled. "You just got out of Azkaban – you're on the run. You can't just walk into Saint Mungo's and kill someone!"

"No, but I can visit," replied Katherine calmly. "And I would dearly love to know what Reeves was doing in our flat, because he can't have been up to much good if he managed to trigger Number Four."

Remus held her penetrating gaze for a full five seconds before he had to look away.

"Your flat?" asked Harry softly, speaking for the first time since Remus had asked him to trust Katherine. "So you were the Katherine who lived with him?"

Katherine almost laughed. "You make it sound as if we were shacked up together."

"You weren't?"

"No!" Katherine pulled a face. "That would be incest, Potter."

The trio's eyes widened. "You're-?"

"Metaphorically!" interjected Remus hurriedly. "We're not related, and no, Harry, we are not and never have been...together."

"Nah, he's far too much of a good boy for my taste," grinned Katherine.

"And Black wasn't?" asked Julian, surveying her critically whilst twirling his wand idly in one hand.

"Black had style," answered Katherine, unwilling to be drawn into a conversation about Severus which she knew Julian was dying to do. "I thought I told you to get back to work."

Julian gave a mock bow, amber eyes glinting. "Your wish is my command, Kitten. Oh, just one more thing, were you serious about Daniel?"

Katherine gave Julian a long look, then smiled slowly. "Deadly."

Julian straightened up, smiling maliciously. "Good."

There was a faint pop as he disapparated then the five of them were alone on the rooftop. "Devil incarnate," muttered Katherine faintly. "I think you were right..."

"What?"

Katherine glanced up at her friend and shook her head. "Oh, nothing."

"Who was he?"

"A kid I used to mentor," sighed Katherine, sitting down on the lip of the building and gazing out over the skyline. "Not really a kid anymore though, I suppose. Funny how much everyone grows up when you're away."

"Right... Mentor...?" asked Remus, leaning against the doorframe as the trio crowded together next to him, ready to fight if necessary.

Katherine glanced up, blue eyes glittering. "Use your imagination, Rem."

"Ah." Remus was silent for a while, acutely aware of the trio's accusing stares but determined to get some answers for his questions before attempting to fence off theirs. "Who lives at High Crest? You sounded worried."

"Did I?" Katherine tore her gaze away from the horizon and smiled faintly. "Simon Carr. Old friend of Dad's."

_Simon Carr. Where had he heard that before...? Someone had mentioned him earlier..._

"Faye said he went after your mother."

Katherine looked surprised, but nodded. "That's right. Him and Kel." She sighed heavily, and gazed at her battered trainers morosely.

"Is it that bad?"

"Oh no, Simon's...boring. He'll probably just go telling tales to Dad – and you got the box out before Dulce & Reeves got in?" Remus nodded, waving it, and Katherine smiled softly. "Then I can handle him."

Remus was vaguely aware of some discontented murmuring at his side, but ignored it. "What was the sigh for, then?"

"Kel's dead."

"Oh. Is _that_ bad?"

To his surprise, Katherine laughed. "No, I suppose not, but...well, he looked out for me. I guess I'll just miss him, that's all. I mean, who's going to get Carr stoned now?"

This last comment earned her four very confused stares, but she just grinned and started humming to herself. Remus risked a look at the trio; Harry & Ron were now giving him questioning looks and Hermione was staring pensively at Katherine. What could he tell them? He wasn't even sure Katherine was sane himself...

_"...do you believe in rock and roll? Can music save your mortal soul?..."_ muttered Hermione softly in the silence. "That's a muggle song."

Katherine stopped humming and gave her a challenging look. "So?"

"American Pie."

"I know. It's by Don Mclean."

"You're a Death Eater."

"Half blood," stated Katherine. "Adopted by muggles, so to all intents and purposes, a muggleborn. Just like you. Least I was when I started Hogwarts – now I'm just a witch."

Hermione blinked, looking bewildered and Remus felt that perhaps now was the time to explain, seeing as Katherine was being unusually cooperative. If only he knew where to start...

"If you're 'just a witch', why are you part of a force that is trying to kill muggles?" asked Harry angrily, knowing _exactly_ where he wanted to start.

"Because I made a stupid mistake when I was fifteen," answered Katherine, gazing somberly at James' son. "And as stupid mistakes go, this one was pretty major."

"You joined the Death Eaters?" asked Harry unsympathetically.

"No. I decided I wanted to get to know my father."

"I thought you said you were adopted," pointed out Ron.

"I did. I was," agreed Katherine. "But my father found me." She glanced at Remus, smiling conspiratorially. "If there's one thing Azkaban gives you, it's time to think. I figured out why he did it."

"Why he tracked you down? I thought you said Malfoy showed him photographs-"

"That's not a why, that's a how," said Katherine dismissively. "That's how he found out I existed and where I was. That's not why he bothered to make contact."

"Well why did he?" asked Remus, curious despite himself. Katherine grinned and tapped the side of her nose. "Oh what?! You go to all the trouble of telling me out worked it out, and now you're not going to tell me? That's exceedingly childish, you know."

Katherine smiled angelically. "Sorry Moony, but what did you expect? You didn't really think I'd grown up, did you?"

"More like hoped," sighed Remus, looking down at the metal box in his hands. Katherine had been rather anxious that he'd got it out of the flat, and yet there seemed to be nothing of value in it. "Hermione, what was on that paper Katherine snatched from you?" Katherine's head snapped up, all her attention now focused on him. By his side, Hermione shifted nervously. "Don't worry, she won't hurt you."

"Much," muttered Katherine, eyes narrowed. Remus gave her an admonishing look which she returned with a glare, and turned his gaze on Hermione.

"It was a picture. Just some cartoon characters..." She stopped, lips moving soundlessly and glanced uncertainly at Katherine. "Of people. Severus..."

"Snape?" asked Harry and Ron together.

"Just Severus... Severus the Envious..." murmured Hermione, frowning. Remus looked at Katherine whose attention had switched to Hermione. "There were seven people in your year when you left school. Seven people, seven sins. Who drew the picture?"

Katherine leant back slightly and folded her arms defensively, her eyes searching the brunette's face but her mouth remaining resolutely shut. Hermione glanced at Harry and Ron for support, and Remus saw Harry shrug very slightly. Whether this was a good sign or a bad sign, Remus didn't know, but Hermione was already turning back to Katherine.

"You lied," she challenged.

"I don't lie."

Hermione frowned, then tried a different approach. "You asked if I was top of my year, that means you've been checking up on Harry and us, but you haven't tried to kill him – you saved him downstairs-"

"That might have been part of the plan," put in Katherine and Remus sighed inwardly. It looked like enigmatic Katherine was back, which was a shame – it had been nice to get some straight answers for once. Still, it also meant Hermione was on to something; Katherine only got mysterious when she was being defensive, and that meant she had something to hide.

"Remus said you don't play games." Katherine raised an eyebrow at this, and Hermione hastened to amend, casting a sideways glance at her old professor. "He implied it, anyway. You saved Harry on instinct."

"Go on," prompted Katherine. Hermione smiled at this.

"You were testing me."

"I was?"

"You thought about it too much – you didn't remember Regulus Black's middle name, you changed it," declared Hermione. "And I've heard the name Octavian before – it took me a while, but I remembered."

Katherine glanced at her watch. "Not that long. Only half an hour."

Hermione gave her a puzzled look, then shook it off. "Octavian was the name of Julius Caesar's nephew. There was a programme on the TV at the start of the holidays and it mentioned him. Octavian was the first Emperor of Rome."

Katherine grinned slowly and leaned forward, eyes glimmering. "Lucius was right. You are bright."

"Malfoy?" asked Remus sharply. "He's on the run."

"So am I," Katherine shrugged, then looked back at Hermione, still grinning. "Lucius doesn't like you very much. Not only are you muggleborn, you're also smarter than his son."

"And you find that...amusing?" ventured Hermione uneasily.

"You've managed to wind up Lucius," said Katherine seriously. "I've been trying to do that for years and only ever managed mildly vexed. You're my hero, or heroine, as it were."

There was a long pause, then: "She _is _joking, right?"

Remus glanced at Ron, who was looking worried. "Honestly? Probably not."

"Hermione," said Harry quietly. "Octavian wasn't the first Emperor of Rome. We did the Romans in Junior School – the first Roman Emperor was Augustus."

Hermione smiled at him. "Precisely."

Harry stared at her, utterly nonplussed. "But you said-"

"She's lying. Regulus' middle name is Octavian, it's Augustus. Regulus Augustus Black," she said slowly, letting this fact sink in. Harry and Ron stared at her, torn between amazement and disbelief.

_"RAB,"_ whispered Ron. "It's him."

"Sirius' brother," added Harry softly.

"Um, Harry," said Ron nervously. "There's something else..."

x – X – x

Remus walked over to sit beside Katherine, having no idea what the trio were talking about.

"Why do they keep asking about Regulus?" asked Katherine.

"Haven't a clue," answered Remus, his gaze drawn to the ring on Katherine's left hand. "You kept it."

Katherine followed his gaze and smiled. "Of course. I did love him, you know. Despite what James thought."

"James was looking out for a friend." Remus hesitated, then added, "You've got to admit - he had a point. Sirius was always going to be second best to you."

"I know," said Katherine, smiling oddly. "The thing James never realised was that when it came to Sirius, I was always second to him – to you too, so I guess that makes me third in line for his affections. Ah well, least I could be sure he was never going to have it off with either of you." She grinned at Remus' bemused expression and poked him in the shoulder for old times sake. "Now don't go getting all soppy about it, I just don't want you thinking I was stringing him along under false pretences."

Remus smiled wanly and glanced across at the trio, who were still deep in conversation. "I understand. Now we just have to figure out how to make them understand. Harry is still fixed on the idea that you tried to kill Lily and James."

"Well I did," said Katherine, shrugging. Remus stared at her for a moment.

"Say that again?"

"It's a long story-"

"Explain," said Remus sharply, frowning at her. Katherine gazed at him, something indefinable flickering in her eyes, and then a shadow fell across them.

x – X – x

"Harry, there's something else," said Ron quietly. There was a slight tremble in his voice and his eyes were fixed on Katherine as though she was about to grow horns and eat him, which, given her condition was not entirely unfeasible.

"Yes?"

"You remember when we were downstairs and Remus said Greyback was 'one of her's'?"

"Yes?"

"And remember Katherine asked if that meant he was working for...You-Know-Who?"

"Vaguely."

"She didn't call him You-Know-Who."

Harry frowned at his friend. "So?"

"Harry..." Ron was white now, as he gazed at Katherine who was talking to Remus. "...she called him Tom."

Harry stared at him, then looked over at Katherine too. _She knew Voldemort's true identity? But she was Remus' age – she couldn't have gone to school with him..._

"I think," said Harry slowly. "That she's got a lot of explaining to do."

"So we can't trust her then?" asked Hermione, sounding slightly disappointed, much to the surprise of the two boys.

"Do we need to?"

"I think so." Hermione bit her lip and gazed at Harry with large brown eyes. "I think she knows about Regulus, and Harry, I think she knows about the horcruxes..."

**x – X – x**

You like? You never know, reviews might make chapters appear quicker. Worth a try, don't you think? ;)


	17. One way or another

**A/N:** Thanks for all the great reviews; they're greatly appreciated. Here is the next chapter, as promised. :)

**x – X –x **

**Chapter 16 – One way or another**

Katherine and Remus looked up into the bold faces of the trio.

"Augustus," said Hermione, something in her tone making her sound almost defiant.

Katherine stared blankly at her. "It's September," she put in helpfully.

"Augustus," repeated Hermione forcefully. "Regulus' middle name. Was it Augustus?"

"I think you already know the answer to that question," said Katherine softly. "Now what I want to know is, why is that important? The man died before you were born, he was a Death Eater, which you don't seem to consider an acceptable career move and he was a Slytherin which, seeing as you're all unmistakably Gryffindors, you won't be able to relate to at all. So why the interest?"

"You said he didn't run away from his problems," said Harry, folding his arms. "And that's practically an admission that he did have some - plus Sirius said that Regulus got too deeply involved in Death Eater activity. If he didn't try to back out, then he must have tried to destroy the organisation."

"Kill Voldemort?" asked Katherine, looking highly amused. "You think Reg tried to do away with a man who tells us on a regular basis that he is immortal?"

"No one's indestructible," said Harry firmly, gaze locked with Katherine's.

"That may be," she conceded quietly. "But I don't think anyone's told the Dark Lord that."

"It doesn't stop it being true," argued Harry, brow furrowed.

"You'd be surprised," smiled Katherine enigmatically. "There are some who would say you could fly if you didn't believe in gravity."

"That's just stupid," remarked Hermione, raising her eyebrows slightly.

Katherine grinned wickedly. "You think so? They were the ones who invented the broomstick."

"What are you saying? That he can't be defeated?" asked Harry, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

"I'm saying that anything is possible if you want it hard enough, and the Dark Lord doesn't have any stupid things like morals to stop him doing exactly as he pleases," said Katherine sincerely, adding darkly: "You can't go to hell if you can't die."

"You think he really is immortal?"

"I think he believes he is," shrugged Katherine. "And if everyone else believes he is, I don't see that the logistics of it have to make any sense."

Harry frowned at her, emerald eyes searching her face for a clue as to whether Hermione's guess was right. If Katherine knew about the horcruxes, why was she pretending that Voldemort was indestructible...but then, just because she knew, that didn't mean she was planning on destroying them. Sure, she was concerned for Remus, but concerned enough to risk the Dark Lord's wrath?

"He's not immortal," said Harry firmly. "No one is."

To his surprise, Katherine grinned. "And that conviction would be why you're the only one who can vanquish him, right?"

Remus sighed heavily, as Harry stared at her. _Vanquish... Was that just a coincidence? She couldn't know it could she...?_

"Katherine, that's just a rumour. The Prophet's grabbing headlines," said Remus in a tired voice, looking wearily at his friend. "You of all people should know that."

Katherine glanced sideways at Remus. "Rem, will you do something for me?"

"What?"

"Cast your mind back a couple of decades and remember that I am not an idiot."

Remus scowled at her, but Harry spoke before he had a chance to retaliate.

"You know it."

Katherine tilted her head to one side and frowned. "Know what, exactly?"

"The Prophecy."

_"What?"_ interjected Remus sharply, a mix of anxiety and anger on his face.

"I know it," said Katherine calmly, gazing up at Harry. "Tom doesn't."

"Wait, what? How-?" began Remus, turning her round to face him.

Katherine sighed, giving Remus an appraising look. "Really, think back twenty years. It's not that difficult." When Remus still looked blank, she rolled her eyes and said patiently, "I was head of the Hall of Prophecy in the Department of Mysteries, Rem. Seriously, why did no one notice that? Even Robert didn't; seems like everyone's dropped a couple of IQ points since I've been gone - except Nic, maybe. She seems to have doubled hers..."

"You know the Prophecy?" asked Remus, as though he still couldn't believe it. "The _whole_ prophecy?"

"'Course I do," shrugged Katherine. "I filed it a couple of months before I got arrested – and you should really put that wand away Potter, it's only going to cause trouble."

Harry, who had been trying to work out if he knew any spells for pushing people over buildings, glared at her. "Trouble? Voldemort's trying to kill me and I'm standing on a rooftop with a convicted Death Eater who tried to kill my parents. I think I'm already in quite a lot of trouble, thank you very much. A little more shouldn't hurt."

"Firstly Potter, Voldemort is not here; he is completely irrelevant to this conversation. Secondly, yes, I did try to kill your parents – the operative word being _tried_. I didn't. This is unusual for me – you might want to give that some thought." Katherine paused for a moment, gazing at Harry's obstinate expression, then continued, "And thirdly, I can promise you that more trouble would hurt; I would make very sure of that."

"Is that a threat?" asked Harry angrily.

"Did it sound like one?" asked Katherine scathingly. "Because if it did, it probably was."

"Tom Riddle," said Harry through gritted teeth. If Katherine could make threats then so could he. The name didn't have quite the effect he expected, though afterwards he wondered what he had thought would happen.

Katherine just gazed at him benignly, though Remus visibly stiffened, which surprised Harry.

"Who?" asked Katherine calmly.

"Downstairs you asked if Greyback worked for Tom. How did you know his name?"

"Harry..." began Remus, but Katherine silenced him, frowning slightly.

"D'you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Remus stared at her in bewilderment. Harry had just asked about her father and she didn't seem even the slightest bit concerned.

"Police sirens," whispered Hermione, stepping up to the edge of the roof and gazing over.

"You'd better go somewhere you can get an alibi," said Katherine softly, gazing at Remus anxiously. "Because a load of muggles just heard a group of men being attacked by a big cat and that's going to attract Auror attention."

"It's not full moon," put in Remus, though he stood up all the same.

"Minor detail. You want to hang around here and hope no one suggests it might have been a wolf?"

Remus shook his head and sighed. "This conversation isn't over, Katherine."

Katherine shrugged and got to her feet. "Here, you can take this." She walked a little way along the rooftop and reached out into what appeared to be thin air. A sheet came away in her hand, light glinting off the silvery material and off the gleaming metal it had concealed.

Remus gaped, stepping forward to get a better look at it. "Is that what I think it is?"

"How did you get that thing up here?" asked Hermione, staring at Katherine.

"How d'you think? I flew," answered Katherine, looking slightly amused.

"Flying vehicles are illegal," frowned Ron, but he said it quietly.

"Not if you have a license," said Remus, running a hand over the gleaming bodywork.

"Precisely," nodded Katherine.

"Do you have a license, Kat?" he continued, glancing sternly at his friend.

"Of course."

"And it's still valid?"

"I wouldn't know. They took it when I went to Azkaban."

"You've been riding an unlicensed flying motorbike over London in broad daylight?" asked Harry incredulously, frowning a little – not in disbelief though; he looked like he was trying to put together a puzzle when he knew half the pieces were missing.

"Don't look at me like that – it's fixed with a DG," said Katherine defensively, fishing the keys out of her jeans pocket and tossing them to Remus.

"A what?"

"Disbelief Generator," explained Remus. "If anyone sees it, they can't believe their eyes."

"So they don't," smiled Katherine.

"Isn't that rather unethical?" asked Hermione, looking as though she thoroughly disapproved.

"Why? Doesn't do any harm."

"How do you know?"

"I don't. I also don't much care. Anyway, don't blame me, I didn't make it," said Katherine flippantly, peering over the edge of the building. The police car had stopped at the foot of the building and two policeman were getting out.

"You stole it?"

Katherine turned around and gave Harry an odd look. "Now why would you assume that? I was sent to Azkaban for murder and crimes against humanity, not petty theft. And seeing as you seem to be in the mood for awkward questions, it belonged to my fiancée. And no, I didn't steal it – I'm just borrowing it, ok?"

"So you're going to give it back?"

"Can't. He's dead," said Katherine shortly. "Anyway, Rem – you take the bike, and you three-" she gestured to the discontented trio, "- you apparate back to wherever you're supposed to be. I've got a friend who can cover your tracks."

"You can't do that for me?" asked Remus, swinging a leg over the bike all the same.

"Too short notice. They'll track your movements first – he can erase these three while they're checking for you," explained Katherine. "Now go – but I wouldn't mention our meeting to anyone if I were you."

"Why? Scared the Aurors will catch up with you?" asked Harry, looking mutinous once more.

"No, but what d'you think they'll do if they find out Remus – a werewolf – is connected with me – an escaped convict. D'you want him to see the light of day again? Then I suggest you keep quiet," said Katherine firmly, looking Harry resolutely in the eye. Harry glanced at Remus, who looked apologetic but nodded.

"You should go. It wouldn't look good if you were found here," he said wearily. The trio looked for a moment as though they were going to argue, but a few disgruntled moments later, they thought better of it and disappeared.

"Of course," said Remus thoughtfully. "It wouldn't look good for you if anyone found out you'd met Harry Potter and not killed him. What was it your friend said? _'Hate the parents, but not the son?'_"

"I didn't kill James, Remus."

"You tried."

"I don't miss."

"You hit your partner!" said Remus hotly.

"Who d'you think I was bloody aiming for?!" snapped Katherine, then shut her mouth abruptly, but it was too late; she'd already slipped up. Remus just stared at her, not quite knowing what to make of it. Finally he asked softly:

"Why did you come here? When I opened the door, the first thing you asked was whether I'd seen the paper. What's in the paper?"

"Wouldn't know. I haven't read it," muttered Katherine, looking intently at her fingers.

"What was so important then?"

She did look up that time, glancing agitatedly at the door leading up to the roof, though of course the Aurors wouldn't be around for at least another ten minutes, and they wouldn't think to search the roof for another five...

"I wanted a favour."

"Wanted? You don't anymore?"

"I don't know if you'd agree anymore," shrugged Katherine, and Remus was surprised to see she meant it. She actually thought he could refuse her something; she must be feeling guilty. The question was, exactly what did she have to be guilty for? She'd just said she hadn't tried to kill James, hadn't she...?

"Try me."

Dark blue eyes gazed into light brown ones. "I need you not to kill Severus."

Remus almost laughed at her for that, but the sound died in his throat. It wasn't that he didn't want to get his hands on the traitor, it was the fact that she'd said needed. Not, _'I want you not to kill Severus'_, not, _'please don't kill Severus'_, but 'I _need_ you not to kill Severus'.

All of a sudden he was fifteen again and they weren't on a rooftop in London, they were on top of the Astronomy Tower at Hogwarts and Katherine was telling him about Tom Riddle and gazing glassily out over the grounds, face whiter than snow and just as cold. She'd needed _him_ then. And he'd been there...for a week or two. Then term had started and they'd drifted apart, like they always did around others.

Only at Easter, they were still apart. It wasn't till the summer holidays started that she'd come back, full of tears and regret, and by then it was already too late. She wasn't the mischievous, fresh Katherine he'd known. She was...well, she was the new Katherine.

And now? He wasn't sure. This post-Azkaban Katherine was a different person too. A whole new personality, but the same old traits. The same vulnerability. And she needed Severus. She _loved_ Severus. She loved Sirius too, and him of course, but that was a different kind of love. Different love for different people. Very different people.

"I won't," he said very quietly. Not because he'd get locked up for the rest of his natural life if he did, and certainly not because he didn't want to – the man deserved it after all, but because Katherine was in love with him.

And because she'd asked. She'd never asked him for anything before. Not anything important at any rate. Only that he stay with her, and she'd never actually asked that. It was just a mutual thing they'd decided on. Outcasts together.

"Not even when you find out what he's done?" asked Katherine, gaze falling to the floor again.

"He's killed Dumbledore and betrayed the Order," said Remus heavily. _And stolen my oldest friend's heart, heaven knows how..._ "I doubt he can do much worse."

Katherine laughed a short, mirthless laugh. "He's a Slytherin. There are no depths to which we would not stoop."

_We?_ Just how guilty was she? And for what? For not killing one of his best friends when she'd promised she wouldn't?

"Tell me," he ordered, getting worried by now. Katherine closed her eyes and said hurriedly:

"He was harbouring Peter Pettigrew at his house for over a year." There was a long silence. Katherine opened one eye cautiously and peered at him. "You're mad, aren't you?"

"You knew this?"

"Not until recently."

"How recently?"

"Couple of days."

"Before or after you burst into Auror HQ?"

Katherine made a face. "Before."

Well at least she was honest. "You didn't think to bring him in?"

"And have him handed over to the Aurors?" Katherine asked, eyebrows raised. She was actually surprised he'd suggested it. "Put up in a cosy little cell for a couple of days before Dad breaks him out? No thank you. I can think of much better punishments, thanks very much."

Remus scowled at her, not caring that he was wasting time. "And how do you suppose to find him if he has escaped? We've been trying to track him down for..." Then he stopped. Katherine had that look in her eyes again, the look that said: _'you walked right into that one, didn't you?'_

Of course. That about summed up her view of the Order; bunch of idiots that couldn't find convict in Azkaban. Whereas Katherine...well, she _was_ the needle in the haystack and as such she knew that the way to find all the other needles was to get a very large magnet and wait for them to come to you.

Peter was a Death Eater.

Death Eaters had meetings.

Of course she could find him. She could find him whenever she wanted to.

"I didn't know," she said quietly. "That there was a traitor, I mean. He must have joined after I got arrested. I would have told you if I'd known. Do you believe me?"

Remus gazed at her for a long moment, then smiled faintly. "Course I do."

She smiled back, and then voices floated up from the stairwell and she was on her feet in an instant. _"Go."_

Remus turned the key in the ignition and the motorbike purred into life. He had to give her credit – she'd even put stealth charms on the engine. Smart girl. He nodded to her, then was off without another word.

He didn't look back, he didn't need to. She would have got away. She always did.

Funny, he'd never even considered that one day she wouldn't. He hadn't believed the papers when they said she'd been arrested; he was sure they'd made a mistake. Katherine didn't go round getting caught. It went against her nature.

And yet she had. He'd always wondered about that. Didn't look like he'd find out why any time soon, either.

Still, he had another piece of the puzzle now. She'd slipped up, hadn't she?

She'd got caught and it had something to do with not killing James. And then there was what Faye had said last night: _"She's not as careless as she used to be. It's like she's found something to channel her energy into..."_

Whatever it was, he'd find out. One way or another...

**x – X – x**

Now that wasn't a horrendous cliffie, was it? Barely even a hill. I think that deserves feedback. ;)


	18. Sanity is not statistical

**Chapter 17 – Sanity is not statistical**

"Katherine?"

Katherine opened her eyes at the voice and pushed herself up into a sitting position, peering blearily at the figure. She'd gone to Avery immediately after leaving Remus and made him cover the trio's tracks, then she'd lifted a paper from someone's desk in the Ministry and headed home - Nicki's home, at any rate. She must have crashed out on the sofa – she didn't remember falling asleep.

"What the hell happened to you?"

"What time is it?" she mumbled as Severus reached out to her cheek, tracing one cool finger across it. She knocked his hand away, frowning and rubbed her eyes.

"Two o'clock. I didn't hear you come home," he answered quietly, standing beside her. There was something odd in his expression as he gazed at her. "What have you been up to? I thought you were just going to see Lupin?"

"I was. I did," sighed Katherine. She had no intention of telling Severus anything about the morning's events if she could help it. "Peter escaped, then."

Severus threw an unconcerned glance at the paper, which was lying on the table and shrugged. "He always does. Who did that?" He gestured again to her face.

Katherine touched her own cheek, and felt dried blood there. She frowned and crossed the room to look in a mirror. No wonder Robert had looked at her strangely earlier - she looked as though she'd been in a war zone. Her hair was tangled and though any wounds had long ago healed, her clothes still bore the marks of spell damage. The blood from the cut one of the Death Eaters in Remus' flat had given her stained her left cheek. She grimaced and wandered upstairs to the bathroom to clean herself up a bit.

Severus followed her, still frowning deeply, his dark eyes concerned, if not worried. Katherine wiped a damp flannel over her face, washing away most of the blood, then pulled a brush through her hair.

Severus leant against the door frame, watching her silently. Finally she set the brush down and stared at his reflection in the looking glass that hung over the sink, meeting the gaze of his mirrored eyes.

"You didn't answer my question," he reminded her quietly.

"I don't intend to," replied Katherine, expression tired and closed.

"Katherine don't..."

"Don't what?" asked Katherine sharply, turning to face him. "Don't keep secrets? It's none of your business what I've been up to."

"It is if you got hurt," said Severus softly, but firmly. "It is if you turn up here looking like..." He trailed off, shrugging again. "Just don't do anything stupid, and if you do, don't get caught."

Katherine barely heard the last bit and stepped forward to catch his wrist as he turned to leave. He looked back at her as she tried to figure out why she'd stopped him. "I never get caught," she said softly, just to break the silence that threatened to stretch out indefinitely.

"History suggests otherwise," remarked Severus, glancing down at her restraining hand on his wrist. She hurriedly released him and folded her arms consciously. He frowned slightly then lowered his gaze. "I've got some business to attend to. Tell Nicola I'll be back in a couple of days."

"You're leaving?" asked Katherine, unable to stop the surprise in her voice. Severus glanced at her, a strange look in his eyes again.

"I'll come back."

_Strange thing to say_, Katherine thought vaguely, but, she realised, what was stranger was that it was exactly the answer she'd wanted. She didn't want him to go, not now, maybe not ever. But that _was_ stupid. He wasn't going far...was he?

"Sofia, Bulgaria. There are some alliances that need...checking," said Severus, in answer to the question she hadn't asked.

Ah, quite far, then. Not that distance was much of a problem for her. Azkaban had given her time to do more than just think...

"Right." She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, wondering what it was about Severus that made her feel she was fifteen again – shy, self conscious and...intimidated? He nodded and made to say something, but she cut in before he could form the words. "Looking like what?"

He blinked and she almost laughed. She'd managed to surprise him, well that was a first. "What?"

"Just now, you said it was your business if I turned up here looking like...?" She gazed at him expectantly.

"Oh, nothing. I can't remember," he said, shaking his head. _Liar,_ thought Katherine sardonically. It didn't matter though, she'd already seen her answer in his eyes. "Take care of yourself," he murmured, gesturing vaguely in her direction.

"You too," she said quietly as he went downstairs again. The back door shut with a click a minute later and she was left alone. She leant against the bathroom wall and shut her eyes. _Looking like death_, that was what Severus had meant. He'd thought someone had killed her, and he'd been...sad? Angry? No, that wasn't the emotion she'd seen in his eyes when she'd first woken up. That was only afterwards, once he knew she was alright.

She sank to the floor, resting her head in her hands, memories of their last few weeks at Hogwarts burning vividly in her mind. The hurt hidden behind anger in Severus' eyes when he thought she'd been consorting with Sirius and the real fury and pain in his cold expression the first time he'd seen Sirius with his arms around her on the grounds by the lake...

She'd called him a coward back then, called him all sorts of things to cover her own grief and she hadn't meant any of it. She should tell him that, tell him she'd long ago forgiven him for joining, tell him she still cared about him, still loved him.

It hadn't gone too well last time she'd tried it, but she'd been angry with him then - she was still angry with him now, but for different reasons. Still, at least it had brought a few things to light. She gazed down at the diamond ring that still sat innocuously on her left hand, glittering innocently in the sunshine.

_"You broke my heart."_

_"Fair's fair, you broke mine."_

Sirius Black. Quidditch star and Gryffindor. Eyes the colour of polished mahogany and hair as dark as coal. Unbidden, Remus' voice came into her head. _"You kept it."_ He'd been surprised – surprised that she cared enough about his friend to keep a diamond ring.

Well, like she'd said – she'd loved him. On their last day of school, when she'd been late to meet the Marauders for the train home, she hadn't been so sure. She and Cassie had been the last ones to leave the dormitory, and after weeks of silence, the blonde girl had turned to her and asked: _'Is he worth it?'_

And Katherine hadn't answered. Was he worth it? Worth being shunned? Worth destroying her friendships? Worth breaking Severus' heart?

She looked down at the ring again and smiled faintly. Was Sirius Black worth turning her life upside down for? _Yes. Worth every second. While it lasted._

But now... She sighed, and very slowly unclasped the chain that hung around her neck. She'd spent a long time looking for that necklace. They'd taken it when she'd gone to Azkaban and it had changed hands a lot after she died. She'd finally tracked it down France, in a muggle jewellery shop of all places. The silver snakes glinted boldly in the light streaming through the bathroom window and the sapphires in her mother's ring glistened softly.

Carefully she slipped Sirius' ring off her finger and threaded it over the chain. It clinked slightly as it met the other ring and Katherine gazed at it for a long moment, eyes utterly unreadable before fastening the chain back around her neck.

Yes, she had loved Sirius. Not enough though – not enough to keep him safe. Not enough to forget Severus, not nearly enough to stop loving Severus.

Nicki's dark eyes glinted her mind's eye. _"You and Snape are soulmates."_

_"Tell him that."_

_"I did. The day you went to Azkaban."_

_"What did he say?"_

_"He said to tell you that."_

Katherine sighed heavily, then got to her feet. She didn't have time to reminisce and there was no room in her life for something stupid like regret. _Focus on the future, focus on finding the horcruxes, focus on not dwelling on what might have been, because it never will be._

As she descended the stairs and entered Nicki's lounge she knew what the emotion in Severus' eyes had been - fear. Severus had been terrified that she was dead, that someone had taken her away so soon after she'd come back. She sighed again, picking up the metal box that Remus had left on the rooftop and pulling Regulus' sketch out of her jacket. Ruefully she placed it back where it belonged – back in the metal box with the past, with the life that might have been.

She hesitated only momentarily before whispering a spell to seal it and placing it carefully on the table in front of her. Yes, she should tell Severus that she loved him, she should, but she wouldn't. It wasn't fair. Not on him and not on her. Not when she was in so much danger – because if she told him they had a chance, he'd follow her to the ends of the earth. He'd help her and he'd get caught or hurt, just like Sirius. Or he'd ask her to run away with him and the problem was that she'd give in.

She couldn't afford to do that. She couldn't let herself get distracted again and she certainly couldn't let him fall for her again when she knew she wasn't going to survive this war.

x – X – x

Flickering torchlight illuminated the two figures bent over a large metal cabinet. The taller one straightened up, tossing a mane of black hair over her shoulder and running a long finger down a list of names.

"This is ridiculous. She can't not have been born – _everyone's _born. So where's the certificate?"

The smaller figure edged away a little, light glinting off short blond hair. "Maybe she took it?"

"No, that's not her style," frowned the woman, tapping the top of the cabinet impatiently.

"It said in the paper-"

"The papers lie; they always lie. Didn't your father tell you that?" said the woman dismissively. The irritated tapping stopped suddenly and eyes as dark as black holes flickered towards the door. The door handle was turning. A wand appeared in her hand a second later as a silhouetted figure stood casually in the doorway.

"Breaking and entering, Lestrange. Tut tut, what next? Mass genocide?"

Bellatrix hissed softly and lowered her wand fractionally. "Lloyd. What are you doing here?"

Julian flashed her a devilish smile, casting a critical eye over the open cabinet and the guilty expression of Bella's young accomplice. "Work business," he answered shortly. "I would ask what you're looking for, but I don't suppose I'd want to know."

He pulled open a cabinet next to the door and pulled out a file, flipping through it easily. Bellatrix stared at him until he looked up again. "What?"

"You're seriously not going to ask?" she said, eyes narrowed suspiciously.

Julian smiled menacingly. "Don't need to."

"Oh no?"

Julian sighed, putting down the file he'd been reading. "Lestrange, you're standing next to a row of cabinets that hold the records for every wizard born in the last century. There's a big R on the front of that cabinet," he added, gesturing to the open drawer behind Bellatrix. "You're trying to dig something up on Katherine."

Bellatrix almost gaped at him, but retained enough self control to stop herself in time. The blond boy glanced anxiously up at her, clearly anxious to leave, but Bella never backed down.

"What are you going to do about it?" she asked, arching an eyebrow.

Julian gave her an amused look. "Do? Why should I do anything?"

"So you're not Riddle's lap dog?"

Julian laughed, golden eyes glimmering in the torch light. "Don't be absurd, Lestrange, but you're on your own on this one."

"Scared?"

"No – sensible. I don't want Riddle after my blood. I'm very attached to my limbs, thanks very much." He grinned again, adding as an afterthought, "Besides, you're not going to find anything."

"And why is that?" asked Bella, through gritted teeth.

"Because," said Julian slowly, gaze flickering to the pale boy by her side. "You're looking in the wrong place." He glanced back at Bella, smirking in a fashion that reminded her strongly of his cousin. "Good day, Lestrange, Malfoy."

The door shut with a click behind him as Bella rounded on her nephew. "The papers – what did they call her?"

Draco almost took a step away from the fervor in her eyes as he said quietly. "Archer. A - R -"

"I know how to spell it," hissed Bella, slamming the R drawer shut and striding across the room to the A cabinet. Draco trailed after her reluctantly as she searched frantically down the list. "There is no Katherine Archer," she snarled eventually. "There's no Archer full stop. This is ridiculous! Are you sure – what are you doing?"

Draco's head snapped up from the list he'd been reading, flushing slightly. "Oh nothing-"

Bella snatched the list from his unresisting hands and frowned down at it. "I thought you said her surname was Archer? All these names start with B."

"I did – it is – it's just..."

"What?"

"Well," Draco swallowed nervously. "Pansy's at Hogwarts and...well, there's a new Professor..."

"So? There's always a new Professor," snapped Bella impatiently.

"Pansy said she looked like Riddle," Draco mumbled, looking at the floor.

"Looks like Riddle?" Bella almost laughed. "I've never seen anyone who looks remotely like Riddle. She's _unique_." She spat the last word like it made a bad taste in her mouth, but her scowl had lessened slightly now.

No one did look like Katherine – if she'd ever born any resemblance to her father, such similarities were lost long ago, but what was it Severus had said the other day...? _"McKenzie was saying just the other day that they'd seen someone who was the spitting image of her not too far from here..."_ And Katherine had brought James McKenzie to a Death Eater meeting in a crumpled heap. What did he know that brought her wrath down on him...?

"Her name is Belle," offered Draco quietly. "With an 'e' on the end." Bella glanced down at the list almost absently, mind still pursuing her train of thought. _Belle._

And there it was: five names. Arcadia, Edward, Faye, Katherine and Thomas.

Katherine.

_Katherine Belle._

Bella smiled slowly, tugging the cabinet open and flicking through the files: Arcadia... Edward... Faye... Thomas...

She stopped abruptly, flipping backwards. _No. No, it had to be there..._

But it wasn't. The files went straight from Faye to Thomas, with only an empty space where Katherine's folder should have been. In the disbelieving silence, Bella could hear Katherine laughing at her, blue eyes burning bright as a gas flame. _One day, Riddle. One day I'll wipe that smirk off your face._

"Come on, Draco," she hissed softly, pulling out her wand and making to slam the cabinet shut, but something stopped her. "Wait – that Professor. What's her name?"

"F. Belle," answered Draco, grey eyes glancing down at the folders lying in the drawer. Bella smiled again, with all the elegance of a lioness. She slipped the file marked Faye Belle out of the cabinet and slid it shut softly.

"Right. Now we can go."

_One day, Riddle. One day soon._

x – X – x

"Back again?"

Ophelia looked up sharply into eyes the colour of oak leaves. The woman smiled, curly brown hair falling neatly around a pretty face. It was the woman from the previous night – the one who'd asked about Severus.

"It's my local," Ophelia murmured softly. A lie of course – but she wasn't going to admit that she'd only returned to see if the woman would turn up again. Well she had – now what?

"Right," conceded the woman, sitting on the bar stool beside her. "Do you usually drink that much?"

"I-" Ophelia stopped, frowning. What kind of question was that? She didn't even know this woman, and yet...and yet she'd been about to answer. This had been a bad idea...

"Sorry, it's none of my business," said the woman, not sounding apologetic at all. In fact, Ophelia thought, she sounded almost...angry? That couldn't be right.

"I-" Ophelia began again, but again she stopped, voice trailing away to nothing. The woman had leaned forward to make her order heard by the barman and a chain had fallen out of her shirt, hanging suspended from her neck. Dangling innocently from the delicate white gold chain were two rings and a silver pendant – a pendant that was as familiar to Ophelia as her own brother.

The woman leant back, glancing back at Ophelia. "Sorry, what was that?"

Ophelia just stared at her, searching for something, anything familiar in that face. A glint in an eye, a ghost of a smile... Then the woman arched a questioning eyebrow and Ophelia knew it was her.

The eyebrow lowered as Ophelia smiled slowly and green eyes that had been blue when she'd known them narrowed suspiciously.

"I've blown my cover, haven't I?" sighed Katherine, shaking her head and accepting her drink from the barman.

"Polyjuice?" questioned Ophelia softly, unable to stop grinning. She should have guessed when she'd offered to kill Daniel; no else was crazy enough to do that. Julian had known, she now realised – he'd even hinted at the possibility to her. Ophelia remembered his words now: _"I presume she did what she usually does after being in the same room as him...goes and gets very drunk."_

"Potions? No, I'll leave that to your cousin, thanks," smiled Katherine wryly. She glanced at Ophelia over her drink and to the younger girl's surprise, the old sapphire eyes were back.

"You never said you were a metamorphmagus," said Ophelia, lowering her voice so they wouldn't be overheard.

"Course not," chuckled Katherine. "If I went around telling people, the Aurors would figure out that all the random strangers who seem to work for Tom are the same person. Besides," she added, tucking a loose curl behind her ear. "It's fun tricking people into telling you what they really think of you. Found a lot of enemies that way."

"And that's good?" asked Ophelia sceptically.

"Yeah. Gives me a chance to get them before they get me," grinned Katherine as the barman walked over.

"Can I get either of you two another drink?" he asked, barely even glancing at Katherine, who had a half full glass in any case. Ophelia opened her mouth to reply, then glanced at Katherine, but the older girl wasn't looking at her – she seemed to have taken a sudden profound interest in the darts match.

_"Do you usually drink that much?"_ Yes, it had been anger in Katherine's voice, the kind she usually heard in Julian - protective anger. Slowly, she shook her head.

"No thanks. I was about to leave."

The barman looked a little put out, but moved on all the same. Ophelia sighed and glanced up at Katherine who was still watching the darts match. Was she smiling, or was that just the light?

"You coming?" she ventured, gazing at her cousin's old friend. Katherine slid off the stool onto her feet and smiled.

"Where we going?"

Ophelia pushed open the door of the pub and stepped out into the cool air. "I know a take away that stays open till one."

"Sounds good," agreed Katherine, shaking her brown curls in the breeze so that they darkened to a glossy black. "Seems to me that we've got a lot to talk about."


	19. Trick of the light

**Chapter 18 – Trick of the light**

"It's not a lot to go on," said Harry dubiously. "We don't know for sure if she does know about the horcruxes and it doesn't look like we can trust her, does it? Not after everything she's done."

Two weeks had passed since they'd met Katherine on a rooftop in London and due to their combined efforts, they'd managed to dig up a substantial, though nowhere near comprehensive, amount of information on the fugitive. She'd been at Hogwarts in Lupin's year – a pretty average student by all accounts, though for some obscure reason they hadn't been able to find any of her national examination results, and after she'd left school she'd moved into a flat in London, got a job and become a Death Eater, though not necessarily in that order.

According to Moody, there was a whole room dedicated to listing her various infringements of the law, but they weren't sure if this was an exaggeration on Moody's part or not. In any case, they knew she'd admitted to a dozen more offences at her trial, the specific details of which were rather hard to come by, though they hadn't the faintest idea why. She was a famous Death Eater wasn't she? So why wasn't the trial more widely publicised?

"But there's got to be a reason why she was so edgy about Regulus. Hermione's right – she would have just given us a straight answer if there was nothing suspicious about him," said Ron, staring thoughtfully up at the ceiling. "Why bother with all the Octavian stuff? She was buying time."

There was the sound of footsteps tripping up the stairs and a moment later the door opened. Ron propped himself up onto his elbows as Hermione entered and shut the door purposefully behind her.

"What?" frowned Harry, seeing her strange expression. "What is it? What have you found?"

Hermione had been trekking up to Hogwarts every day that week to try and find out anything she could about Katherine but hadn't had too much luck so far.

"You're not going to like this, Harry," she said softly, dropping a heavy book onto Ron's bed. "At all," she added for emphasis.

"What is it?" asked Ron, turning the book round and frowning down at it. The cracked leather cover looked black at first glance but was actually tinted green, the thick pages edged with silver. "And why hasn't this thing got a title?"

"For the same reason classy restaurants don't display their prices," said Hermione coolly, perching on the edge of his bed. "If you need to ask, then you can't afford it."

"So do you know the title?" asked Harry, sitting up and gazing curiously at her.

"No, because it doesn't have one," said Hermione irritably. "Those people who own a copy know what it is and that's all that matters. Anyway, that wasn't what I wanted to talk to you about; the book's not important – well, it is, but it's not the most important thing."

"So what is the most important thing?" asked Harry, frowning in puzzlement. Hermione took a deep breath and said quickly:

"I know why we couldn't find Katherine Archer's exam results." There was a pause, then, when it began clear that Hermione was unwilling to continue, Ron prompted:

"Yes...?" Hermione made a face, but said quietly:

"Because she's not called Katherine Archer. Well, she was, but she changed her name while she was at school." She consulted a piece of paper in hand and continued, "She graduated with eleven OWL's and seven NEWT's."

"Seven?" asked Ron incredulously; most people only did five.

"Seven," nodded Hermione, and there was a slight pause before she added: "And she got Outstanding in everything."

"So she's clever," said Harry softly. "But we knew that already."

"Yes," agreed Hermione soberly. "What we didn't know, however, is that her real name isn't Katherine Archer, it's Katherine Riddle."

x – X – x

"Five letters, the address from which characters can regularly go to hell," said Katherine, glancing over the paper at Robert, who was flicking through a book bound in green leather.

"Any letters?" Katherine frowned down at the crossword.

"Ends in S." Robert paused in his flicking and thought for a moment.

"Hades," he said finally. "Yes, Hades."

"Four, four. Impress toxophilite?"

"Bowl over," said Robert absently, turning back to his book. Katherine frowned at him suspiciously as she pencilled it in.

"You've done this already haven't you?"

"No," said Robert, truthfully. "You're just out of practice."

"Hmm," murmured Katherine dubiously, as the door to the study swung open. Katherine ignored the newcomer, looking studiously at her crossword. She didn't want company, especially not now - it meant she couldn't ask for Robert's help with the clues. Both had thought it wise to keep quiet about Robert's ability to solve a cryptic crossword in under ten minutes; it didn't quite fit in with the assumption that he was a imbecile.

"You again," snarled a low voice, causing Katherine to look up. Sapphire eyes met yellow ones as she set down the paper and wrinkled her nose.

"Ah yes, Greyback isn't it? Tell me, how is Azkaban these days?"

The werewolf growled, glowering at her and clenching his fists. When the Aurors had found him in Remus' flat they'd carted him off to Azkaban immediately and the Dark Lord had only sent a retrieval team the day before.

"Same old," Greyback muttered with barely concealed malice. "Half expected your lot to leave me in there." Katherine arched an eyebrow.

"Ye of little faith."

"You wouldn't have left me to rot?" asked Greyback, cracking his knuckles idly.

"Me?" asked Katherine in feigned surprise. "Oh yeah, I'd damn you to the depths of hell, don't get me wrong, but the Dark Lord...well, he's rather fond of his _pets_."

Greyback snarled angrily but a figure moved in the shadows behind him and a hand was placed on his shoulder soothingly.

"Don't rise to it Fenrir," said a voice that made Katherine's blood run cold. "She's just trying to get at you."

Robert looked up as the pencil Katherine had been holding dropped to the floor, and frowned in bewilderment at his old friend. She looked frightened, more afraid than he'd ever seen her before, but that was ridiculous. Katherine didn't get scared – even her father didn't intimidate her.

"Ah, not so confident now, are we?" asked the husky voice, stepping around Fenrir and gazing cruelly down at the black haired girl. "Not now there isn't a safe row of bars and enchantments between us."

Katherine said nothing, only gripped her wand tighter, ready to use it at a moment's notice. The woman smirked, wild scarlet hair tumbling down around a gaunt, ravaged face. Brown eyes glowed maliciously in sunken eye sockets and the face that smiled was pale and covered with scars.

"You never came to visit," chided the woman, smiling oddly.

"How did you get out?" asked Katherine, finding her voice at last.

"The Dark Lord's liberation team. They convinced me of the worthiness of his Cause," the woman laughed softly. "Not that I needed all that much coercion to tell you the truth. Anything's better than another day in that place."

"You've met her?" asked Fenrir, looking questioningly at the newcomer.

"Oh yes," chuckled the woman. "We go _way_ back, don't we Katy? Round about three decades I'd say, give or take a few years."

"Thirty five," muttered Katherine, not meeting her gaze.

"Been keeping count, have we?" asked the woman, looking delighted. "Oh don't look so upset, you weren't the one who got bitten."

Katherine's head snapped up at that, and the fear in her eyes was instantly drowned by a flood of fury, the hand that held the wand twitching slightly, yearning to be used.

"Oh come off it, darling. We both know that if you were going to do something, you would have done it long ago," sighed the woman, giving Katherine a derogatory look.

"Yeah, well maybe I couldn't find a suitably gruesome way to kill you," said Katherine softly. "Or maybe I thought that living with the curse was torment enough."

"Well if you did, you were wrong," remarked the woman, flexing her pale arms in such a way that Robert half expected her to unsheathe claws. "Being a werewolf isn't a curse, Katy, it's a gift. It's just a shame your little friend never realised that, although maybe there's hope for him yet. Fenrir tells me he's been returning to his roots..."

"Leave him the hell out of this," said Katherine darkly, glowering at the woman now. Behind the red head, Fenrir was frowning.

"Who's been returning to his roots?" he asked, tilting his head to look quizzically at the woman before him.

"Remus Lupin," smiled the woman. "Katy's little playmate." Fenrir's eyes lit up at the name, his gaze shifting to Katherine.

"Ah, so that was why you were at his flat; I did wonder. A model Death Eater consorting with the Order's tame werewolf. Tut tut, does the Dark Lord know about your secret liaisons?"

"Why are you so interested in Remus?" asked Katherine angrily, though Robert had known her too long to not notice the desperation that lay beneath the question. "What did he ever do to you?"

"To me?" laughed Fenrir. "He's done nothing to me, girl. It's more a matter of what I did to him." When Katherine looked blank, he elaborated: "I made him what he is today and I like to keep track of my pack."

Katherine frowned, looking completely confused by this. Robert, still sitting largely unnoticed in his chair decided to give her some help.

"I think what our friend is trying to say is that he, what's the technical term, _sired,_ Lupin," said Robert lazily, looking bemusedly up at her. Katherine looked at him, expression rather sceptical.

"I realise that," she said slowly. "But he can't have. Silva bit Remus."

"Reuben?" asked Fenrir amusedly. "That little runt? Who told you that?"

Katherine opened her mouth to say _'He did'_, but closed it again when she realised that this wasn't strictly true. Thinking back, she didn't remember Reuben ever actually explicitly saying that he had bitten Remus, only that, what was it...? _"...he's mine. He was stolen from me and I want him back..."_

"He deserved it," Fenrir was continuing, oblivious to the change in Katherine's expression. "After what his father did to me..."

_Father? Remus was bitten because of something his father did?_ Katherine's mind was racing, trying to make sense of this new information when a sudden thought surfaced, halting all other contemplation. _Greyback bit Remus, but that means... That means that Remus getting bitten wasn't anything to do with me..._

A slow smile crept across Katherine's face, the guilt of years washing away in that instant of realisation. It wasn't her fault – Reuben's pack may have thought Remus was responsible for the death of their leader, but it was Greyback who had gone after him – and his motives lay with Remus' father, not her.

"Ruth?" Katherine murmured softly, addressing the red haired woman properly for the first time. Ruth Saevus arched an eyebrow at her junior, too overconfident to notice the change in her tone.

"Yes?"

Katherine met her contemptuous gaze with a dangerous smile.

"You lied."

Ruth frowned, flicker of apprehension crossing her face; Katherine's sudden change in attitude was disconcerting to say the least and she had the sinking feeling that the slight power she'd always been able to exert over the younger woman was rapidly disappearing. Little Katy wasn't scared of her anymore; this was almost certainly not a good thing.

"I did?" she asked, managing to maintain her veneer of calm.

"All that rubbish in Azkaban about Remus, about how it should have been me... You were just messing with my head..." said Katherine quietly. She looked up, angrily. "_I'm_ the one who messes with people's heads."

"Well it should have been you," argued Ruth, scowling. "Only you killed Dux when he came near you – you murdered him."

"I was five years old," said Katherine defensively. "I didn't know what I was doing."

"You can't kill someone when you're five," said Robert softly, looking up absently from his book. Katherine almost jumped; she kept forgetting he was there.

"What?"

"I said you can't kill someone when you're five," repeated Robert blandly.

"She did," said Ruth, using Katherine's momentary disconcertion to try and get the upper hand once more. If Katherine no longer felt guilty because of Remus, maybe she'd still feel ashamed of what happened to Gareth... "She was born with a black aura."

Robert smiled wistfully. "Black, an aura to which is attributed outer space, the universe and night. Characteristics of which include wisdom, sadness, mourning, loss, death, discord, confusion, fear and evil. Black is the absence of colours, absorbing all the light of the spectrum. Hmm, suits you, Riddle, but the fact remains, you can't have killed that man. It's a physical impossibility; a five year old's magical ability is not sufficiently developed to bring about another human's demise, else we'd all be dropping like flies every time they had a tantrum." He smiled again at his old friend, his expression conveying more than words ever could.

"I thought Malfoy said you were thick," said Greyback bluntly, staring at the blond man. Robert sighed regretfully.

"Yes, he does seem to be under that impression, doesn't he? Well, we'd hate to ruin his illusion, wouldn't we, Katherine?"

"It would be most inconvenient," agreed Katherine, smiling lazily back at him. Ruth glanced at the raven haired girl and realised too late that she had one hand behind her back. "I don't like people who lie to me," said Katherine softly, drawing a small metal object out from where she'd stowed it in the belt of her jeans and flicking the safety off, blue eyes glinting with malice. The light from the window gleamed on the barrel of the gun as she smiled, one finger resting on the trigger. "And I really_ hate_ people who threaten my friends..."

x – X – x

"Riddle? As in Tom Riddle?" asked Harry, staring at Hermione in shock.

"Well it might explain why she knew his real name," nodded Hermione, looking uneasy.

"But she can't be related," said Ron, leaning against the head board of his bed. "I mean, Remus is friends with her, isn't he?"

"Yes but she said she was adopted, didn't she?" pointed out Hermione. "And she did say that deciding to meet her father was the biggest mistake of her life. From the way she was talking about him, it sounded like he got her to join the Death Eaters. I presumed he was just a devout follower but what if he's the actually the ringleader?"

There was a slight pause, then Ron shook his head.

"That's crazy. You-Know-Who can't have a kid – it's just not possible."

"No?" asked Hermione, arching an eyebrow. "Well there's something else you should know. You remember that blond guy who grabbed Harry in Diagon Alley a few weeks ago? I overheard Moody talking to your parents about him last night; he was a Death Eater and his name was Kelly Hunt."

"So?"

"So Katherine said that someone called Kel was dead," said Hermione patiently. "And she definitely knew Hunt because Moody said he was her godfather."

"What?" asked Harry, sitting up. Hermione sighed heavily.

"He was asking if Hunt had done anything to you, because Kelly and Katherine were quite close and if she wanted you dead, there's a good chance she would have enlisted his help."

"But he didn't do anything," said Ron. "He just gave you a note..." He trailed off, suddenly remembering what Kelly had said. Harry nodded soberly.

"He asked me to give it to Riddle. He must have meant her."

"And he knew she'd go after you," agreed Hermione. "He knew he was about to die and gave the note to the closest person that might make contact with her."

"Ok," said Ron slowly, trying to take all this in. "But let's just say all that's true, it still doesn't mean that You-Know-Who is her father."

"Kelly Hunt and Tom Riddle were in the same year at school," said Hermione quietly. "I looked him up when I found out her real surname."

There was silence while they all tried to come to terms with this. Harry lay back on his bed, staring pensively at the ceiling.

"Remus said she was worse than Voldemort," he said, almost absently. "I guess if he taught her... Well, they say pupils always excel their master; that's how we get progress."

"Remus trusts her," said Ron, though it was hard to tell whether he was incredulous or trying to reassure himself that things weren't as bad as they appeared. Harry hoped it was the second – if Remus had some influence on her actions as he had seemed to have back at his flat, then maybe they had a chance.

After all, his fate now lay largely in the hands of Voldemort's daughter. Katherine Riddle knew the Prophecy, and surely it was only a matter of time before she told her father...

**x – X – x**

Reviews are very much appreciated. ;)


	20. Hello again

**Chapter 19 – Hello again...**

"Already tried that – couldn't find it."

Robert arched an eyebrow at his companion. "Did you search everywhere? You might have missed it."

There was a slight pause, then a grim chuckle. Katherine tore her gaze away from the crack in the door and grinned at him. "I wasn't referring to the locket, Rob. I meant the house."

"You couldn't find the house," he repeated slowly, as Katherine turned back to the door and peered out into the sunlit street.

"That's right."

"It's pretty bloody hard to miss."

Robert could almost hear his friend roll her eyes. "Don't you think I know that? I'm telling you it wasn't there. 10 & 14 and a six inch dividing wall where number 12 should be."

Robert was quiet for a while, considering this information. "When?"

"When what?" asked Katherine, easing the door open a fraction to get a better view of the street beyond.

"When did you go?"

Katherine thought about it for a moment. "About two years ago."

Robert almost laughed. "When the Order were using it as headquarters you mean?"

The door shut abruptly as Katherine whirled round to face him. "Say that again?"

Robert grinned. "You walked right up to Order HQ and practically knocked on the door and they _still_ couldn't catch you? How long did you stay there trying to figure out how to get in?"

Katherine scowled at him. "Why would the Order use Grimmauld Place as HQ?"

"I believe Black offered it to Dumbledore – would have just been empty otherwise; Mrs Black died ages ago."

"But Sirius hated that place," said Katherine quietly, her expression hard to read in the dim light. "He'd rather walk through hell than go back there."

Robert shrugged, sliding off the table he'd been sitting on and taking up sentry by the grimy window. "He went to Azkaban didn't he?"

Katherine didn't answer, just leant against the cold wall looking pensive. Robert chose to ignore her and peered out into the street. _The things you do for the people who call themselves your friends. _Here he was, cooped up in a dilapidated old shack that was probably vacant for the simple reason that the roof looked as though it was about to cave in and the floorboards were more woodworm than wood, all because Katherine wanted to spy on some guy who'd been unfortunate enough to get on her bad side in the short month he'd known her. He didn't know why she wanted to spy on the man, but she'd insisted and he'd agreed to keep her company. He sighed, and rubbed the window with his sleeve in a effort to make it at least semitransparent. A little further up the road was a small tavern, and outside the tavern was...

"He turned up."

"Course he did," muttered Katherine. "You don't not turn up when the Dark Lord summons you; not if you want to keep your head on your shoulders."

Robert murmured his agreement, then frowned. "Kat, did you ask _Bella_ to recruit him?"

Katherine chuckled mirthlessly. "What if I did?"

"That's...that's cruel, no actually that's just plain _evil_." Robert glanced over at the black haired woman. "You really don't like him, do you? I mean, you actually hate him – you spoke to _Bella_ you hate him so much."

Katherine's blue eyes gleamed in a shaft of light that fell through the worn door. "Daniel Corbelle is not a nice person. Besides, I like Ophelia and she deserves better."

"So that's your plan? Sign him up and get him killed?" asked Robert, looking sternly at Katherine.

"Yes."

Robert smiled sourly. "Fair enough." They were quiet for a while, each lost in their own thoughts, then Robert said softly, "We should go look, you know."

Katherine glanced up at him, puzzled. "Look where?"

"Grimmauld Place – the Order moved out when Black died. Whatever charms they put on it would probably have deteriorated by now."

Katherine stared at him for a long time, then nodded. "Ok. Let's go."

x – X – x

_Plumbiossis: lit. 'lead bones', use to impede flight. Note – may cause fatality if not removed promptly._

Harry shut the book and looked across the room at his two best friends. Ron was lying half asleep on his bed, a sheaf of papers lying spread out around him and Hermione was taking notes from a couple of books on Dark Magic.

"Hermione, where did you find this book?" he asked, holding up the green leather bound volume she'd sneaked out of Hogwarts.

"Someone donated it to the school," said Hermione absently. "I think it was Riddle."

Ron sat up on his bed abruptly. "Riddle? Which one?"

"Katherine," answered Hermione, tracing her finger along a line of text, seemingly entirely unconcerned about this.

"We've got Katherine's book?" asked Harry, staring down at it as though it might try to kill him.

Hermione sighed and put down her quill. "I told you, she gave it to the school – she's not going to come looking for it. I'm not even entirely sure it did belong to her. Why did you ask?"

"Well, it's just that it's got some really nasty spells in here – I mean _really_ horrible," said Harry gravely. "What kind of people come up with spells that make you live out your greatest fear or trap yourself inside your own body?"

"Anyone who's seen a boggart," said Hermione quietly. She looked soberly at the two boys. "Any Hogwarts student could have come up with any of the spells in that book. They're simple, that's what's so awful about them."

"They're twisted," said Harry firmly. "No normal person could come up with something like _Inopia_."

"No, perhaps not," said Hermione soberly. "But then Katherine is hardly what you'd call normal, is she?"

"Katherine?" asked Ron hesitantly. "But just because she owned it doesn't mean-"

"She wrote it, Ron," said Hermione, gazing at him. "Not alone – the spells are quite different – they couldn't all have been thought up by the same person, but she did help write it. Look at the date, it was written a few years before she was arrested."

Harry turned to the inside cover and examined it. Above the publishing date were five words written in neat copperplate handwriting:

_scientia potestas est_

_arma ipse_

And beneath that, at the bottom of the page and clearly specific to this one copy of the book, the words: _nil desperandum_

Harry frowned, making a mental note to buy a Latin dictionary next time he went out. He glanced at the next page where, if this had been a normal book, the title would have been. It wasn't. There was, however, another note scrawled in the top right hand corner in different handwriting to the previous one. _Tartarus super gelavit._

"What's Tartarus?" he asked, and didn't realise he'd spoken aloud until Hermione answered.

"It's part of the Underworld in Roman myths. I came across it once doing a bit of background reading for Ancient Runes. It was where all the criminals were sent – I suppose you could call it hell. Why, is it in there?"

"Someone's written a load of Latin phrases in here."

"Strange thing to do," frowned Ron, looking bewildered.

"Not really," said Hermione, turning back to her book. "They didn't expect anyone else to get their hands on it, and if they did, they would have expected them to understand Latin, most pureblood families used to get tutored in it, I heard."

"They?" asked Harry.

"The people who wrote the book," said Hermione grimly. "I think it's meant to be some sort of survival guide; that inscription in the front – 'scientia potestas est, arma ipse' – I looked it up. It translates as 'knowledge is power, arm yourself'. At a guess I'd say Riddle and her friends wrote it as a handbook for Death Eaters."

"Or a collection of how much they'd leant," put in Harry darkly, looking down at the book. _A handbook for Death Eaters,_ that didn't sound good – but if it was, why wasn't everyone using those spells? Harry was pretty sure the newspapers would have reported people getting hit with those sorts of curses...

"You can't be sure it's written by Death Eaters," Ron said, frowning deeply.

"Avery's got a copy," said Harry quietly. His friends stared at him and he smiled sourly. "At Remus', that guy Katherine knew said he'd been leant a book by Avery – one that had Number Four in."

"Yeah – I thought that was odd," agreed Hermione. "Why call a spell Number Four? But it's not in there Harry, I checked."

"Maybe it's not a name, maybe it's a nickname," said Harry, flicking through the book to find the page he'd seen earlier.

"A nickname?" asked Hermione, glancing at Ron uncertainly.

Ron looked thoughtfully at Harry, then raised an eyebrow as he caught on to what his friend was suggesting. "A fourth Unforgivable?"

Harry nodded grimly. "A couple of weeks ago the Prophet reported that an Auror admitted to Saint Mungo's, unable to speak, see move or indeed communicate in any way at all – the Healers aren't even sure if he can hear."

"And a couple of weeks ago that man said Reeves had been hit with Number Four..." finished Hermione, looking horrified.

"Inopia," Harry read, having finally found the page he'd been looking for. "Literally meaning helpless. Totally incapacitates victim; irreversible."

There was a short silence following his words which was abruptly broken by a soft popping noise. Harry started in surprise at the sight of his house-elf standing in the middle of the room.

"Kreacher?"

Kreacher bowed low, muttering obscenities under his breath. "You summoned me, Master?"

"No I didn't," objected Harry, staring at the small wizened creature before him. Kreacher appeared to hesitate, even ceasing his customary mumbling to mull this over.

"Master summon Kreacher," he decided eventually._ "Despicable half-blood scum that he is."_

Harry glanced at Ron over Kreacher's wrinkled head, hoping for some clue as to what was happening. Ron shrugged and made a gesture illustrating that he thought Kreacher had lost it a long time ago. Harry frowned down at the elf and asked:

"Why do you think I summoned you?"

"Master say Kreacher's name. Master summon Kreacher," grumbled the elf mutinously.

"I didn't say your name," argued Harry, getting annoyed now.

"Someone obviously did," said Hermione softly. Harry glanced at her and she continued. "If house-elves hear their name called by someone they've sworn to obey, they're compelled to turn up. They can't disobey a call and it would take a lot of effort to come when not summoned."

"But all the Blacks are dead," said Ron, staring at the still bowing form of Kreacher. "And we know he doesn't belong to Bellatrix– Harry, what're you doing?"

Harry had sprung to his feet and pulled out his wand, expression furious. "I'm going to Grimmauld Place."

x – X – x

"They've cleared the place," said Katherine bleakly, standing in the middle of one of the many drawing rooms. "Everything's gone – all the trophies, all the artifacts, everything."

"Well at least we know the Order were here."

Katherine frowned at Robert, who was examining a tapestry hanging on the wall. "I thought you already knew that."

"Thought, yes – knew, no. Never had any real conclusive proof." He stood back and smiled absently at her. "D'you know Black's name has been blasted off this?"

"Course it has, he was a blood traitor – cardinal sin, that. Doubt he would have cared – he hated his family." Katherine sighed, pulling a couple more drawers open and riffling through them even though she knew it was pointless; the Order had obviously been very thorough in their cleaning. "Kreacher?" she called absently for the third time that hour. "Where is that bloody house-elf?"

"Maybe he died," suggested Robert, peering out of the window into the street below.

"His head's not on the staircase," said Katherine, sliding the drawers shut with rather more force than was strictly necessary.

"Maybe he died after his late mistress." Robert turned away from the window and watched as Katherine leant her head against the polished mahogany cabinet, eyes closed. "What about his room?"

"Kreacher's?"

"Reg's."

Katherine opened her eyes and looked at him. Would Sirius have cleared out his brother's old room? She could understand him wanting to get rid of everything that reminded him of his childhood, but Regulus' things...

"Worth a try," she conceded and led the way out of the room and up the stairs. Robert pulled a face as they walked through the corridor leading to the floor Regulus' room had been on.

"What's that smell?"

"Dunno, smells like sewage doesn't it?" answered Katherine, wrinkling her nose. Robert nodded and pushed open one of the doors. "What?" asked Katherine, seeing the amused look on his face.

"You weren't kidding when you said he hated his family, were you?"

Katherine stuck her head around the door and grinned. She remembered this being Sirius' parents room and from the looks of it her former fiancé had at some point installed some sort of animal in here. Dead rodents and a few feathers were scattered across the floor and the room smelled like a cesspit.

"Shame they didn't get round to cleaning in here," murmured Robert, closing the door firmly. Katherine just grinned and headed further down the corridor and up the small flight of stairs at the end.

"Regulus' room," she announced, trying the door handle; it was locked. She poked at the lock with her wand unsuccessfully for a while, then looked at her companion. Robert grinned and rammed the door open with his shoulder.

Katherine caught the door as it tried to shudder closed again and looked into the room. Then she looked at Robert.

"I don't think it's in here," she said quietly. Robert shook his head, gazing silently through the doorway. It was like looking through a window to the past, or maybe a shrine; not a thing was out of place – everything was left as Regulus must have left it over two decades earlier. There were books and quills scattered over the desk, a jacket hanging on the back of his chair and a picture of Auriga Nott pinned to the wall over his bed.

"Something as powerful as a soul would corrupt things," murmured Katherine. "This is just..." She shrugged helplessly, _this is Regulus' room, frozen in time._

"It's not in here," confirmed Robert, closing the door carefully.

Suddenly, somewhere in the house, someone screamed. Robert and Katherine looked at each other, then drew their wands.

"The Order did move out, right?" she hissed, looking worriedly at her friend.

"I thought they did," muttered Robert, frowning. "_Blood traitor scum...?_ Is it just me or can you hear someone yelling mudblood...?"

"I recognise that voice," said Katherine slowly, brow furrowing. "That's Mrs Black."

"Deceased?"

"Evidently not," muttered Katherine. "Wait – blood traitor? What blood traitor? What mudblood?"

_"Shut the curtains!"_

_"I'm trying!"_

Robert raised his eyebrows. "That wasn't Mrs Black."

"MISTRESS!"

Katherine's head snapped down as something small and grey hurled itself at her feet, sobbing loudly.

"Kreacher, where the hell have you been?" asked Katherine, scowling down at the elf. Footsteps sounded below them and a small white face surrounded by bushy brown hair appeared at the bottom of the stairs, looking up at them.

"Kreach-" Brown eyes widened in shock and the girl turned on her heel and fled back the way she'd come. Robert was first to react, leaping down the stairs after her, closely followed by Katherine, yelling at him not to hex anyone. Behind them, Kreacher jumped up, bloodshot eyes shining with delight and ran towards the sound of his mistress' voice.

x – X – x

_"...filthy half blood scum, befouling the house of..."_

"Harry, run!"

Harry and Ron stopped trying to pull the curtains over Mrs Black's portrait and looked up at Hermione. Her face was pale and scared and over her shoulder they could see a man chasing her. Ron ran forward and caught her hand, pulling her towards the stairs, but Harry stood his ground, glaring at her pursuers.

"Harry, come on!" urged Ron, but Harry ignored him. Behind him, the yells of Mrs Black fell silent and the blond man was brought up short by someone placing a restraining hand on his shoulder.

"Robert Avery?" asked the portrait, sounding uncertain. A woman's face appeared behind the blond man, scowling at the painting.

"So you are dead, then?" she asked, black hair gleaming in the dimly lit hallway. "I was worried for a while there."

"What are you playing at, Kat?" asked the man softly, looking suspiciously at her.

"Just being polite," shrugged Katherine.

"You've nicked my wand," said the man pointedly, looking rather miffed about this.

"Oh yeah, you're not allowed to hurt them," she said absently, smiling faintly at him. "Remus would never forgive me. Besides, without Potter we're basically screwed – isn't that right, Potter?" she asked, raising her voice and smiling pleasantly at Harry. "He's the Chosen One," she added, addressing Robert once more.

"We're going to let him go? You do realise we'll be in a hell of a lot of trouble if anyone finds out."

Katherine grinned, stepping round him and regarding Harry thoughtfully. "Who's going to tell him? No one knows we're here."

"You're breaking and entering," scowled Harry, raising his wand.

"No we're not, I have a key," retorted Katherine, holding it up.

"Trespassing, then."

"And?"

"And it's my house," said Harry, glaring at her. Katherine arched an eyebrow.

"Your house? Really? Well that's a relief, I was half expecting Trix to show up any minute and demand to know what I was doing."

"What _are_ you doing?" asked Harry, not lowering his wand. Just because she'd stopped her companion hurting them didn't mean he had to trust her.

Katherine smiled slyly. "Kreacher?"

"Yes, Mistress?"

"She's not your mistress," interjected Harry angrily. It wasn't that he didn't want to be rid of Kreacher – he did, but as Dumbledore had pointed out, the elf knew far too much about the Order to be set free or reassigned.

"Yeah, that's a good point actually," agreed Katherine. "Why are you calling me mistress?"

"Mistress was en-"

"Never mind," interrupted Katherine with an abruptness that startled even Robert. "I get it."

"I don't. En what?" asked Robert, frowning at his friend.

"Endorsed by Regulus as an honorary family member," answered Katherine smoothly and turned to the house-elf at her side, smiling grimly. "Kreacher I believe you have something of mine."


	21. Salazar's Locket

**Chapter 20 – Salazar's Locket**

"Never mind that," snapped a voice suddenly. "What are you going to do about _them_?"

Katherine glanced up at the portrait of Mrs Black, one eyebrow arched questioningly. "Do?"

"The boys are traitors to their blood and the girl is – is filth – she's a _mudblood_," hissed Mrs Black, rolling eyes steady for once and fixed intently on the woman before her.

"Watch your mouth," said Katherine quietly, head held high. "Your precious Voldemort's half and half."

"Lies!" howled Mrs Black, pointing an accusing finger at her almost-daughter-in-law. "You only seek to disgrace your family-"

"Like Sirius disgraced yours?" asked Katherine, brushing off Robert's calming hand. "Leaving home was the best decision he ever made, except for the fact that it left Regulus to your clutches. He was a good man and you destroyed him, or tried to."

"What's that supposed to mean?" spat Mrs Black, furious now. Katherine just smiled grimly.

"Leopards don't change their spots, Amelia."

Mrs Black's lips tightened to a thin white line, yellowing eyes blazing. "So it would appear. You always did seem to have a soft spot for Gryffindors, sometimes I think you're a Lion at heart."

"I am _not_," snarled Katherine, glowering at the portrait. "I was never a bloody Gryffindor."

"How'd you explain this then?" asked Harry softly, emerald eyes hard. Katherine started and looked at the photograph he was holding out.

"What is it?" asked Mrs Black, craning to see over Harry's shoulder. "What's he got?"

Katherine gazed at the picture, then up at Harry, something like pity in her eyes. "You shouldn't have that."

"It was in that box of yours, along with the one of you and Regulus. Well that's not Regulus you're with this time – that's Sirius. And that's my Mum and Dad and Remus," said Harry hotly.

"I know," said Katherine, leaning against the wall.

"You do?" asked Robert, frowning at her. "You hated them, Kat – except for Lupin. I don't remember you ever going near them."

"You wouldn't," said Katherine, sighing. "It was the train ride home at the end of seventh year."

"Ah," said Robert, understanding dawning.

"You betrayed them," said Harry, glaring at her.

"I didn't," said Katherine softly, but firmly. "Firstly, we were not exactly what you would call friends to start with, and secondly...secondly we need to talk, Potter, but not here. Too many prying eyes and ears."

"Meaning me, I suppose," said Mrs Black, positively bristling.

"Among others," grinned Katherine slyly, before turning her jewel bright eyes on Harry. "Can I ask you something, Potter? Sirius seems to have done his level best to remove most of his history from this place so why is that portrait still here?"

"Permanent sticking charm," said Harry grudgingly.

"Ah yes," smiled Katherine. "Impervious to all magic." The portrait of Mrs Black smiled sourly, looking a little smug. "But not to fire, I think," added Katherine quietly, looking thoughtful. Harry stared at her and she smiled sourly. "Sirius must have been really depressed not to have thought of that. It's a Marauder solution if ever I saw one."

"You knew him, didn't you?" asked Harry, frowning at her.

"Like I said Potter, neither the time nor the place. Well, perhaps the time, but definitely not the place. Probably not the best time either come to think of it – Kreacher?"

"Yes Mistress?"

"Did Sirius throw everything out?"

Kreacher looked up at her, large eyes suddenly fearful and seemingly close to tears. "Kreacher tried to stop him, Kreacher knew Mistress wouldn't like it, but Master was determined to ruin his Mother's good name – Master wouldn't listen to Kreacher-"

Katherine looked over the head of the prostrate elf at Robert. "Well that's it then. I didn't really expect it to be that easy."

"It was worth a try at any rate," agreed Robert soberly.

"What was worth a try?" asked Harry, unable to stop himself.

"Never you mind," muttered Robert, casting a hostile look towards the young man.

Katherine half smiled, then turned sharply towards Kreacher who was still sobbing his apologies. "What was that last bit?"

Kreacher broke off abruptly, gazing up at her fearfully. "Kreacher did not like the blood traitors? Kreacher tried to escape to warn-"

"No," said Katherine carefully. "The bit where you said you salvaged what you could."

"Kreacher tried to-"

"Where?" asked Robert sharply, following Katherine's train of thought. "Where did you put what you stole?"

"Steal? Kreacher would never steal, Kreacher was only-"

But Katherine was already gone, tossing Robert's wand back to him and dashing along the corridor and down the back stairs to the kitchen pantry, Robert close on her heels.

x – X – x

"Alexandra, isn't it?"

Alex McKenzie looked up from the book she was reading with a guarded look on her face. "Yes. Was there something you wanted?"

Bellatrix Lestrange smiled and sat down opposite her, eyes bright. "Do you remember someone called Faye Belle?"

Alex arched an eyebrow. "Why do you ask?"

"She's Riddle's cousin," said Bella silkily. "You do know Katherine, right?"

"I used to," said Alex, scowling. "But if you're trying to get to her through Faye you're wasting your time. Faye's dead – Katherine killed her."

"Riddle did away with her cousin?" asked Bella incredulously. "Are you sure?"

"She told _him_ she did," said Alex in a tired voice. "Why would she lie? She's ruthless right? Least that's what I've heard and from the look in her eyes when she brought James back I could well believe it."

Bella frowned, leaning forward slightly, her dark hair falling to frame her pale face. "Ruthless, yes, but not towards her family. If she found her cousin there's no way in hell she'd hurt her – Riddle hasn't got much family and the friends she has got she'd give her life to protect. Besides, Faye Belle is teaching at Hogwarts."

Alex took a moment to consider this, twirling a strand of copper hair between her fingers. "But Jamie already tried that. He went up there to see her and it _was_ Katherine – she knocked him out for sneaking around her room. So you see – even if Faye is alive, it's not her at Hogwarts."

"Your brother," said Bella carefully, thinking fast. "Was that the only time he tried to see her?"

"Of course," said Alex, brown eyes large with surprise. "She threatened to use Number Four on him if he came back – what? Why are you smiling?"

Bella leant back, grinning like the Cheshire Cat. "Why would she need threats if there was nothing to hide?"

Alex frowned, looking confused. "I'm not following you."

"Look, if it really was Riddle up at the school, which I don't believe for a second – she's got far to many commitments down here for her even consider a teaching job – why bother threatening Inopia? The worst your brother could do to her is be a nuisance – always checking that she was who she said she was..."

"But if it's Faye, he'd find out she was lying," completed Alex, eyes wide.

"And Riddle would have to answer some very tricky questions," agreed Bella, smiling nastily.

"And then she'd kill us," said a low voice from the doorway. Bella jumped out of her seat and whirled to face the intruder. James McKenzie smiled pleasantly at her and looked over at his sister. "You're not getting involved, Alex. Katherine's not the sweet little girl we used to think she was. If you cross her she'll kill you."

"I'm still alive, aren't I?" interrupted Bella, looking coolly at James.

"Maybe she's having a hard time thinking up a suitable punishment," grinned James, flaming red hair falling softly onto his forehead.

"Maybe she knows she can't handle me," said Bella icily, looking distinctly ruffled at his suggestion.

"Maybe," conceded James. "And maybe Severus has a heart. Or Dumbledore was a Death Eater."

"Very funny," seethed Bella, giving him a look that would have felled a tree. "We'll talk later, Alex." With that, she swept out of the room, taking no notice of James' smirking features.

"You never know, maybe Potter wants to join forces with the Dark Lord," he shouted after her.

"Don't Jamie," chided Alex, giving her brother a disapproving look. "And she had a point, you know."

"Yeah, I know," said James, gazing at her calmly. "I also know I don't want Katherine after my blood. She invented that, you know," he added, nodding towards the book that lay open on the desk before Alex. The red head glanced down at the page and sighed.

"Not timid little Miss Average, then?" she asked, looking up at her brother resignedly

"Not exactly, no," agreed James, taking the seat Bella had vacated and sliding the book towards him. "Haven't looked at this in ages – I suppose mine's at the bottom of one of my trunks or something."

"Well go find it," grinned Alex, snatching the book back from him and snapping it's green cover shut. James smiled ruefully, then frowned as a thought occurred to him.

"You're not planning to use any of those on Riddle, are you? Because she probably knows that book inside out-"

"It's ok, Jamie, I won't," sighed Alex reassuringly. "I'll stay out of it."

"Good," said James and stood to leave but Alex asked quickly:

"Jamie? How did you know?"

"Know what?"

"Know she invented it?"

James shook his head and smiled grimly, brown eyes meeting his sister's identical ones. "You really should read the papers Allie."

x – X – x

"Harry, where are you going? We should go and get someone!"

"It'll be too late," shouted back Harry, taking the stairs three at a time and rushing along the corridor that lead to the kitchen and Kreacher's den.

"But we don't know what they're looking for," chipped in Ron, catching up with his friend.

"It doesn't matter – this was Sirius' house, it's my house, she's not taking anything from it," fumed Harry, pushing open the kitchen door and meeting a grim looking Robert Avery on the other side.

"I told you, Kat. Stupidity always wins in Gryffindors," he said softly, gaze never moving from Harry's face, his wand pointing directly at his heart.

"It's bravery, Rob," came Katherine's muffled voice from the depths of the room.

"Same thing – both get you killed," said Robert calmly.

"So does loyalty," replied Katherine distractedly, making Robert frown slightly. "Oh yes..."

Robert cast a quick glance over his shoulder to see Katherine straightening up, a golden chain dangling between her fingers. She smiled brightly at him, opening her hand so that the heavy locket dropped, swinging gently from the chain.

"Loyalty's not all bad then," murmured Robert, gazing at the gold locket and not even caring when Harry darted around him, wand pointing at Katherine. Katherine gave the boy a withering look.

"I thought I told you not to bother with that," she said tiredly. Harry wasn't listening however, his gaze was fixed on the locket hanging menacingly from her fingertips, things suddenly clicking into place with alarming speed. There was no mistaking that locket this time – it was definitely the one he'd seen in the pensieve, and this wasn't just Sirius' house – Regulus Black had lived here too – Regulus, whose own fake locket he had in his jeans pocket at the very moment. He'd spent weeks with Ron and Hermione trying to decide on the best course of action for tracking the horcruxes down and here was one, sitting quietly in his very own house, just waiting to be remembered, waiting to be found. And now it had been, but by the wrong person.

He raised his gaze and emerald eyes met sapphire ones. "You can't use it," he said quietly, scowling at her.

"Use it? Potter it's a locket, a very old locket. You wear them," replied Katherine, but her expression didn't match the light tone of her voice. She was studying him, weighing up what she knew about him and putting things together very fast by the looks of it.

"Salazar's locket?" tested Harry, trying to keep his voice level. Was there a chance she didn't know what it was? Or was she retrieving it for Voldemort? A slight movement in the corner of the room caught his eye; Kreacher was back.

"Someone's done their homework," said Robert Avery carefully, stepping around the large table to reach Katherine.

"Master's locket!" exclaimed Kreacher, catching sight of the trinket. "Master told Kreacher to keep it safe – he said it was not to be removed. Master made his mother proud, Master would never have run away-"

"Master was trying to destroy his master," said Katherine softly, her voice, quiet as it was, cutting into the elf's tirade and stopping him short. "And you know what this is, don't you, Potter." Harry's stubborn silence was answer enough for her and she smiled grimly. "Yes, I thought you might after all that business with Regulus up on the rooftop. Why would you be interested in a dead man? Reg never did anything particularly notable in his life except for discover Tom's best kept secret. How did you know about him? I'm pretty sure Tom never knew, so I doubt Dumbledore would've."

In answer, Harry withdrew the small locket from his pocket and held it up for Katherine to see. "He left it in place of the real one," said Harry impassively. "We found it the night Dumbledore..." He trailed off, then looked up at Katherine again, gaze as hard as diamonds. "Give it to me."

Katherine gazed back almost sadly and very slowly shook her head. "No. This one's mine."

"No!" shouted Harry, making a lunge for the locket but Katherine held it out of his reach and Harry slammed into an invisible wall courtesy of the quick work of Avery. Katherine turned her attention to the locket and promptly forgot everyone else existed.

"Looks safe," she muttered eventually. "What d'you think?"

Robert took the locket in gentle fingers, though the chain remained looped around Katherine's hand. "Only one way to know for sure," he said carefully, looking grim. Katherine nodded in agreement and tugged the locket from his hands.

"What are you doing?" asked Harry in frustration, barely noticing Hermione's efforts to dissipate the shield that Avery had constructed.

Katherine met his gaze, bright eyes gleaming in the dim light and said simply. "What I promised." And before Harry could move or say anything she flicked her wrist and a shimmering mist crept down the chain of the locket, hardening as it did so and glistening like ice. In a matter of seconds it had covered the entire surface, making the locket look like a very odd icicle.

Katherine glanced up and smiled genuinely at Harry. "Whatever Remus tells you about me, it's probably true. Even the good bits."

Harry stared at her in confusion. Why had she said that? What did Remus have to do with anything? Katherine grinned at his expression and added only one line of explanation.

"Just in case it kills me when I do this."

And she slammed the frozen locket in the wall, shattering it in fragments of gold and ice. A moment later, Harry, who had unconsciously been leaning against Avery's shield, fell forwards as it disintegrated. He was helped to his feet by Ron and Hermione who were looking worriedly over at Katherine and when Harry adjusted his glasses he saw why.

The locket may have lain lay smashed on the floor but there was a dark sinister shape hanging in the air before Katherine that looked like black smoke, except it was swirling, growing and forming into a shape – a human shape. Harry now realised why Avery had dropped the shield charm, the blond man was constructing some sort of spell or jinx under his breath, strange lights dancing at the tip of his wand and throwing his face into deep shadowed relief.

Katherine, just visible through the dark, smoky figure that was becoming more defined by the second, seemed to have her eyes shut, her face screwed up in concentration. Suddenly Hermione tugged Harry and Ron backwards and downwards so that they fell to the floor and by the time Harry got his breath back to ask what she was playing at, it had already become clear.

Avery had hurled his spell at the dark figure at the very moment it had solidified and the resulting blast caused a wave of rushing air that shot out at waist height with all the force of a tidal wave, crashing into shelves and cabinets around the room and knocking Avery and Katherine off their feet and into the wall with a sickening thump. The torrent roared just above the trio as they lay on the floor, their hands over their heads, but there was no way of blocking out the howl that penetrated the noise of falling crockery and the rush of wind – the anguished scream of a soul in torment, which seemed to go on forever...

And then, just as suddenly as it had started, it stopped and silence rushed back to fill the room, broken only by the sound of heavy breathing. Harry lifted his head, distractedly brushing plaster dust from his hair. Ron and Hermione were on either side of him, but both were unhurt thanks to the latter's quick thinking. On the other side of the room, Avery was getting up, grimacing as he extracted broken crockery from his shoulder. Harry cast a glance at the room's other occupant and felt a curious rush of panic when he saw she wasn't moving.

Robert looked up at his sudden intake of breath and followed his gaze. He frowned, then stumbled over the broken chairs to reach his friend, the shards of porcelain forgotten and his brown eyes wide with fear.

"Katherine? Kat? Are you all right?"


	22. Alea iacta est

**A/N: **Sorry it's been a while since I last updated. I've been really busy.

**x – X – x**

**Chapter 21 – Alea iacta est **

Faye looked up at the urgent knocking on the door. Hesitantly she laid down her quill and moved over to the door, opening it curiously. At the sight of the person on the other side, her look of surprise turned to a frown.

"Hermione?"

"It's Katherine," said the brown haired girl, twisting her hands together nervously. "She's...in a bad way and I heard you tell Remus that you'd trained as a Healer in America. Please – Avery won't take her to Saint Mungo's and..." She broke off, biting her lip and looking imploringly up at Faye. "There's a lot of blood."

Faye stared down at the girl, a thousand and one scenarios flitting through her head. Hermione knew Katherine? How was that possible? Was this really Hermione or...?

"Please, Faye. You've got to help." Hermione's eyes were wide, her face pale and the expression of concern on it was genuine enough. Maybe she was walking into a trap but could she afford to take that chance?

"Ok," she said quietly. "Where is she?"

x – X – x

The fireplace at Grimmauld Place flared green and Hermione stepped out, expression worried but calm.

"She's coming."

Robert Avery regarded her distrustfully, Katherine lying unconscious on the floor next to him. "If you've gone to the Aurors you're going to regret it," he said softly, malice underlying every word.

Hermione shot him a scathing look, moving to stand next to Harry and Ron who had their wands trained on the two Death Eaters. "Of course I didn't. I said I knew someone who could help and I found her. She'll be here in a minute."

Avery scowled at her, then turned his attention back to Katherine, hating the fact that he had to put her life in the hands of a group of teenage Gryffindors. He supposed he could have tried Saint Mungo's but that would mean Azkaban for them both or at the very least awkward questions from _him_ and that wouldn't do anyone any good. He sighed, moving his hand away from Katherine's head to see if the bleeding had stopped yet; he'd used his shirt to try and stem the flow of blood but it hadn't helped much. _Don't die, Kat. You didn't come this far to get killed at the first hurdle. You didn't come this far to give up on me..._

Green light lit up the room again as Hermione's supposed Healer arrived and Robert glanced up, then did a double take and looked again.

"Who the hell are you?" he demanded, getting to his feet, blood stained hands reaching for his wand, only to remember the trio had taken it from him as he'd examined Katherine.

"My name's Faye," said the woman, setting a bag down on the floor and reaching out towards Katherine. Robert knocked her hand away, glaring at her.

"That wasn't what I meant," he growled through gritted teeth. Faye looked back, meeting his gaze with equal animosity.

"Well if this is how all her friends behave when I'm trying to help I can see why she made sure we never met," said Faye pushing determinedly past Avery and kneeling by her cousin.

"What are you talking about?" asked Robert, dropping to the floor as Faye examined first Katherine's eyes, then the back of her head.

"Later," said Faye distractedly. "How did she do this?"

"Got slammed into the wall," said Robert curtly, holding Katherine's hair back as Faye took something out of her bag. Faye's oak green eyes looked at him in surprise at this gesture and he let his gaze fall to Katherine's pale face. He hadn't seen her look so helpless since Evan had poisoned her over twenty years previously and she'd very nearly died then.

"Who slammed her into a wall?" asked Faye innocently, sealing the wound with her wand.

"No one."

"What then?" asked Faye, looking up at him. "Doing something she shouldn't have been?"

Avery smiled grimly, though his brown eyes remained worried. "Always."

Faye smiled back faintly and turned Katherine over, taking her pulse. "Katherine? Kat? Can you hear me?"

No response.

Looking thoughtful, Robert leant down and whispered something in Katherine's ear. One blue eye flickered open and looked blearily but nevertheless accusingly up at him.

"Liar," she murmured, half raising a hand to thump him on the arm, but letting it fall again almost immediately. "What happened?" she asked, not even bothering to open both eyes, let alone try and sit up.

"You nearly gave me a heart attack, that's what," said Robert, looking appraisingly down at her.

"I said it might kill me," muttered Katherine with a sigh. "It was a chance I was willing to take. Shame it didn't work. Is it gone?"

"Destroyed," smiled Robert, eyes triumphant now.

"What was?" asked Faye, leaning back against the sink and gazing down at her now lucid cousin.

Both of Katherine's eyes flew open at the sound of her voice and she turned her head, wincing slightly, to stare at Faye.

"What are you doing here?"

"Saving your life," answered Faye, folding her arms. "What were you doing?"

Katherine managed a half hearted smile. "Attempting to save everyone else's." She turned her head back to look up at Robert. He shook his head, rubbing his face tiredly.

"You can explain later when you've thought up a suitable story," he sighed, getting to his feet and helping Katherine into one the chairs that had survived the blast of fury from the horcrux.

"She's my cousin," said Katherine quietly, looking him in the eye. "She works at Hogwarts and I told Tom I killed her and that it's me working there in disguise."

Robert regarded her carefully for a moment, then looked at Faye. "In that case you'd better be getting back there before anyone notices you're missing."

Faye nodded, picking up her bag. "I want you to come and see me tonight, Kat – or I'll come and see you. You've probably got concussion and I need to give you a proper look over, right?"

Katherine sighed but agreed reluctantly. "Ask Rem where my house is and meet me there – only don't tell him about this. He'll probably lecture me."

Faye smiled. "Ok. I'll see you then."

"And not a word of this to anyone," added Katherine, as Faye moved over to the fireplace.

"I won't tell a soul – so long as you meet me tonight," answered Faye, clear eyes serious before she turned to the fireplace and said calmly: "Hogwarts."

Katherine smiled wanly then placed her folded arms on the table and rested her head on them. "How did she get here?"

"I got her."

Katherine raised her head and unfocused eyes settled on Hermione. "You?"

"You didn't think we were going to let you die without giving us answers, did you?" asked Harry, pulling up a chair opposite her.

Katherine studied him for a moment then frowned, though Harry could have sworn she was suppressing a grin.

"You're a bloody clone of your father, you are."

"And are you a clone of yours?" asked Harry, gaze fixed on hers.

Katherine grinned wickedly, burnished eyes glittering. "Hell no, Potter. I'm unique."

"You destroyed the horcrux."

"I did."

"You knew it was Voldemort's horcrux."

"I knew."

"Why did you do it?"

Katherine raised an eyebrow. "Why? Because I promised Reg I would." She smiled with all the lazy menace of a tiger and added: "And because I hate Tom. Yours weren't the only parents he killed."

"He killed your parents?" asked Harry, his forehead creasing in a frown.

Katherine smiled mirthlessly. "My fault; I should have stayed with him."

"You're lying."

Katherine gave Harry an odd look. "Excuse me?"

"Your father's alive," said Harry, returning her look with one of anger. He didn't like being treated like a child.

Katherine tilted her head to one side and smiled tightly. "Biology isn't everything, Potter."

"But he is your father," said Harry, only a trace of uncertainty showing in his voice.

"Tom? Yeah, I guess giving me twenty six chromosomes means he qualifies as being my father, but he's not my Dad. My Dad was murdered when I was sixteen, along with my Mum," said Katherine, looking ruefully at Harry. "My fault." She glanced at Robert, who had stopped removing the last of the broken pottery from his shoulder and was staring at her. "What?"

"You never told me that."

Katherine chuckled softly. "You never asked." She sighed heavily, then cast a sudden glance around the room, looking as though she'd lost something. "Where's Kreacher?"

Harry started, realising he hadn't heard the elf's discontented mutterings for a while now.

"Maybe he went back to Hogwarts," suggested Ron, shrugging, but Hermione tugged on his arm and pointed towards the pile of splintered wood that had previously been a set of shelves. Katherine leant over the table and saw a pair of feet sticking out from under them; they weren't moving.

"Ah," she said quietly as Robert muttered something Harry couldn't hear and sparks flew from his fingertips, engulfing the small body, turning it to ash in a matter of seconds. "You weren't too attached to him were you?"

"To Kreacher?" asked Harry, his incredulity evident in his voice.

Katherine laughed, sitting back in her chair. "I see you've inherited your godfather's distaste for him then. Can't say I blame you – Reg always said he was a nasty little git."

"So you did know him," said Harry, green eyes boring into Katherine's. He was going to get answers if it killed him.

"Course I did – he was in my year," said Katherine nonchalantly, though something about her stance told Harry she was being deliberately careful.

"He's got his arm round you in the photo," said Harry, a touch of accusation in his voice.

"End of term high spirits," said Katherine calmly, eyes bright with mystery.

"You were friends?"

"For a while," admitted Katherine quietly.

"Then what happened?" asked Harry, determinedly.

Katherine smiled again, eyes full of regret. "Neither the time nor the place, Potter," she sighed.

"And when will it be," asked Harry angrily.

"I don't know," said Katherine. "But it's not now." She got up and Harry noticed she wasn't even swaying anymore; how could she have recovered that quickly? She'd lost a lot of blood – the evidence of that was congealing on the kitchen floor and matting her glossy black hair, but if you hadn't known that, you'd never have guessed she'd been at death's door ten minutes previously.

Robert Avery chuckled, rinsing out the cloth he'd been using to tend to his own wounds. "She's a fast healer," he said quietly, noticing Harry's confused expression. "Very fast," he added as Harry shot him a disbelieving look.

Katherine stood up from her crouch, fragments of gold in her hand. "One down," she grinned, dropping the shards onto the table and sitting back down, her alert gaze focused on the trio. "Now, I think, is the time to talk horcruxes."

"Why should we talk to you?" asked Ron, pulling up a chair beside Harry, Hermione with him.

"Because we're smarter than you are," offered Robert flippantly. "Or maybe because you just saw us destroy one and you can't afford not to be on our side."

"Can't we?" asked Hermione defiantly.

"No," answered Katherine softly. "Because if you're going to go shooting your mouths off to anyone, we're going to have to kill you, prophecy be damned."

"But you work for Voldemort," pointed out Harry, hand clasping the fake locket in his pocket, Remus' words echoing in his head: _"...you really don't want her as your enemy..."_

"And you think that means we're on his side?" asked Katherine, looking vaguely amused. "Tom uses threats and punishments to ensure loyalty and they're not exactly the best methods of winning the hearts of your followers."

"You're risking a lot by tracking down horcruxes then, aren't you," said Hermione. It wasn't a question.

Katherine looked at Robert, then back at the trio. "I've got nothing to lose and Robert's got everything," she shrugged. "Tom has to be stopped."

There was a short pause, then Ron asked quietly:

"Look, exactly whose side are you on? His or ours?"

"Mine," said Katherine firmly. "Nasty Slytherin habit that – don't care much about other people."

"Except Remus?" questioned Hermione sharply. Katherine grinned and surveyed the girl with an amused gaze.

"Except Rem."

"You not caring about others isn't a very good reason for us joining you, is it?" remarked Harry, frowning deeply. There was another factor in this somewhere, he knew it – if only he could work out what it was...

"You need us," said Robert seriously. "We're more experienced with Dark Magic."

Harry looked at him thoughtfully. "You mean you need us. I'm the one who can defeat Voldemort and..." He paused, smiling grimly. "...and you don't know how many there are, do you? One down – but how many more to go?"

Katherine's eyes narrowed, though not in annoyance. "Father's looks and mother's astuteness. That's rather a dangerous combination you've got there, Potter. No wonder Tom's mad at you." She sighed, smiling slyly. "But Rob's still got a point – you do need us."

"Because you're better at magic?"

"No, because you've got no idea where to look," said Katherine simply. "If you did, you would have found that locket long ago and would be well on the way to tracking down the next one by now."

"And you know where to look?" asked Harry, irritated.

Katherine smiled artfully. "When I first met Tom he used to tell me a lot about his childhood – he wanted to get me on side I guess, by telling me all about his troubled life. I know of plenty of places where the horcruxes might be – we just don't know what they look like or how many there are, so we're in a bit of a dilemma. For all we know, that horcrux could have been the last, but I don't fancy some one on one combat with Tom to check, 'cause if it wasn't I'll die."

"You'd help us?" asked Harry, gazing at Katherine in puzzlement.

"You want to get rid of Tom?"

"Of course."

Katherine glanced at Robert, who nodded, then she turned back to the trio and smiled magnanimously. "Then providing you don't speak a word of this to anyone, our skills are at your service, Potter."

Harry looked at his friends; Ron shrugged and said softly: "She has a point – we don't know where to look. Worth a try, isn't it?"

"And you?" This was directed at Hermione, who was looking dubious.

"I don't like it, but Ron's right, we need them," she ventured slowly. "Plus, I think we can trust Katherine at least – she wouldn't do anything that could hurt Remus; you saw the way they were talking on the rooftop."

"Aside from trying to kill my parents?" asked Harry sceptically.

"Hey – for the last time, I did not kill your parents, Potter," interrupted Katherine, making Harry jump. He scowled; he hadn't realised she'd heard them.

"That's not what the papers said," he argued.

"That's not what you said, come to that," added Robert, looking appraisingly down at Katherine.

Katherine pulled a face, folding her arms. "Yeah well, I say a lot of things."

"So what did happen?" asked Harry, looking questioningly at her. "I'm not telling you anything unless you explain," he added quickly.

Katherine cast a wretched look at Robert. "I don't suppose there's much chance of you putting your fingers in your ears and humming loudly is there?"

"None at all," said Robert, trying not to look amused at the expression on his friend's face.

"You're going to get mad at me," she warned.

"Quite probably," he agreed. "But I'm sure I'll get over it."

"Fine – but none of you are to tell Remus, you hear? He'll probably never talk to me again if he finds out," said Katherine and there was real earnest in her voice. At unanimous nods from the trio and an over exaggerated cross-my-heart-and-hope-to-die from Robert, Katherine explained. "Tom told me to eliminate your parents a couple of days two days before Regulus told me about the horcruxes, only I knew that if I did it I'd break Remus' heart and if I didn't Tom would kill me, so I took the only other option left open to me. I went with my partner to the restaurant we'd found they were going to and made the attack. Unfortunately, Wilkes somehow managed to get between me and them just as I aimed and..." She shrugged, sighing theatrically. "Poor Leo."

Robert chuckled darkly, grinning at his friend. "Oh yes, I bet it just broke your heart when that happened."

"Hey, I _loved_ Leon," said Katherine in a mock hurt voice. "He was the best mistake I ever made."

"Only you had to kill him."

"Well I couldn't have Rem hating me, could I?" asked Katherine, eyes glittering playfully. "Anyway, the Aurors turned up just after Wilkes fell and I ran for it," said Katherine, smiling ruefully at Harry. "Had a bit of unfinished business to catch up with before they carted me off to Azkaban, see."

"Azkaban was your other option?" asked Hermione in a slightly shocked voice.

Katherine's blue eyes flicked up to her face and she arched an eyebrow. "When it's a choice between death, prison and Remus giving you that disappointed look he does so well, I'd take prison any day. Food's terrible but at least Tom can't get you."

"What about the Dementors?" asked Harry quietly, looking curiously at the woman in front of him. He had the feeling that it was going to be a long time before he could even try and understand her, but he was starting to think it was worth the effort.

Katherine shrugged again, though her blue eyes were serious. "They're not so bad when you know your greatest fear can't come true. Anyway," she sighed, shaking her head to clear it. "I had a lot of time to think about everything Reg told me about the horcruxes and I don't break my promises – I will destroy them. Tom's not invincible, despite his telling us otherwise on a regular basis."

Harry was silent for a while, considering all this information. Could he run the risk of collaborating with Death Eaters? But then they already knew about the horcruxes and he'd seen them destroy one – and aside from all that it _would _be useful to know if Voldemort had any inklings of what they were up to. Plus there was the glaringly obvious point that they were far more experienced with magic than the trio were and Katherine had seemed to be telling the truth when she'd said she wanted to be rid of Voldemort...

Slowly, he pulled the fake locket out of his pocket again and slid it across the table towards Katherine. She frowned and picked it up, flicking it open in one easy movement and unfolding Regulus' note in long elegant fingers. She quickly read it, grinning and passed it to Robert. The blond man raised his eyebrows.

"Always did have a certain way with words, that boy. Basically along the lines of _'F you'_, isn't it?" he remarked, handing it back to Katherine, who laughed.

"Good old Reg," she said softly, giving the locket back to Harry who was studying her carefully.

"You miss him, don't you?" he asked gently.

Katherine smiled mirthlessly. "I'll be seeing him soon enough." She glanced at her watch, the glass of which had a crack running through it, presumably a result of her collision with the wall earlier. "And now I think I'd better be off. We'll owl you if we think we've found anything of significance."

"And how do we contact you?" asked Harry, rolling Robert's wand across the table. The blond man picked it up, smirking.

"Send me an owl or a memo or something – I work at the Ministry; Transportation Department. Try not to be too conspicuous – Aurors aren't the only ones I need to avoid," he said, pushing the chair back and getting to his feet.

"Or if it's incredible urgent, ask Rem. He'll probably unwillingly agree to seek me out," grinned Katherine, also standing. "Good to meet you, Potter." She picked up a fragment of the broken horcrux and stared at it for a moment. "Nice to know you're a little more open minded than your father," she added quietly. "We'll be in touch. Good luck."

x – X – x

_Reviews are appreciated. :)_


	23. Non illigitamus carborundum

**Chapter 22 – Non illigitamus carborundum**

"Remember when Fi died?"

There was a slight pause then: "Yeah…"

"My Uncle came to Hogwarts to see Dumbledore – asked him to make sure my mother didn't find me, I think. Well, he brought Faye along and…" Katherine shrugged, glancing sideways at Robert through a curtain of dark hair.

"You've known about Faye since seventh year?"

"To be fair we only met once – I've really only known her for about a week if you add the time up."

"Seventh year, Kat," said Robert, giving her an appraising look. They were walking along an empty London street in the growing twilight and Robert was getting some answers for a change.

"Well you were all grieving and so was I – you didn't miss me and I didn't see any reason to add to your problems," said Katherine, tucking her hair behind her ear and gazing up at the darkening sky.

"You found out you had a cousin and you thought that was a problem…?"

Katherine smiled weakly. "It is when you know your friends aren't going to like you in a couple of months time. They could let things slip."

Robert gave his friend an odd look and exhaled deeply. "You planned it that far ahead?"

Sapphire bright eyes met his as Katherine turned her head to face him. "I didn't plan it – I just saw an opportunity and took it. When people have friends they feel the need to do stupid things like protect each other. Look at you and Cass – you'd walk through hell and back if you thought it would make her happy, and don't say I'm exaggerating – we both know you're tracking down the horcruxes for her sake. When Tom's gone, she'll be safe."

"And I'll be in Azkaban."

Katherine smiled slightly, though it was tinged with sadness. "Maybe – but at least you'll know she's ok."

Robert frowned, brown eyes dark with thought. "Is that what kept you sane?"

"I'm sane, now, am I?"

Robert smiled half heartedly. "As sane as you ever were."

"Knowing you lot were ok, you mean? Yeah, that was part of it," agreed Katherine, squinting up the road into the shadows of the houses.

"Even though you left us to fend for ourselves?" questioned Robert, raising an eyebrow in jest.

Katherine laughed. "Well you fared better than most of our year, didn't you? In fact, if I recall correctly, the only Slytherins in our year that died were killed by other Slytherins. Evan killed Fiona and I killed Evan."

"So it pays not to be friends – as long as you're not enemies," surmised Robert, grinning despite himself.

"Pretty much. I guess I'm going to have to revise that theory now, if we're all gonna make it through this war," she said quietly, shaking hair out of her eyes.

Robert smiled grimly. "You know that's highly unlikely, don't you? That we'll all make it? It was a miracle we pulled through last time."

"I know," acknowledged Katherine in a small voice, meeting his heavy gaze. "But I can hope, can't I?"

"Dangerous thing, hope," said Robert, looking thoughtful.

"Only if it's false," said Katherine calmly. "I'm not deluded, Rob. Overly optimistic perhaps, but not deluded."

Robert laughed, running a hand through his blond streaked hair. "Now that's something I'd never have thought anyone could accuse you of, Kat. What happened to the pessimistic cynic we all knew and loved?"

Katherine just grinned. "She grew up and a met a person called Regulus Black. Best one of all of us really, wasn't he? While we were moping around being bitter and angry at the world he went straight to the root of the problem."

"And got killed? Do you know why that was?"

Katherine shrugged. "All I know is what Bella told me – that Tom was disappointed with Reg's recent work and that she was going to pay him a visit."

"Then you went to warn him and he handed over the papers?" asked Robert musingly.

"That's right," agreed Katherine. "Never did manage to drive him away."

"No – though I notice he never made any attempt to tell us that you'd purposefully split us up."

"Why would he? He knew I was right," said Katherine, smiling slightly. "Besides, you wouldn't have thanked me for it. The only reason you're still talking to me now is because you thought I was dead and you're pleased to have me back. To be honest I'm surprised that most of your reactions weren't more like Cass'; I wasn't exactly expecting to be welcomed back with open arms."

"Why not?" asked Robert, looking slightly amused. "You're the one who kept me on the rails when I first joined, Kat – I wasn't intending on abandoning you just because you faked your own death and Nic's never one to hold a grudge. As for Severus, well he's in love with you, so-"

"That was a long time ago," interrupted Katherine, face impassive in an instant.

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder."

"Or turn to resentment."

Robert shook his head, looking seriously at his friend. "You hurt him when you went off with Black but he never stopped loving you – why do you think he joined the Order?"

"Because Tom told him to," said Katherine simply, frowning into the middle distance. "Or because he wanted to get close enough to Sirius to kill him."

"Or because he wanted you to be proud of him?"

"Now you're just being ridiculous," said Katherine scathingly. "He knows I hate traitors."

"He also knew you were always fighting against your father and you have to admit it's a good ruse. He couldn't be punished for foiling our attacks if it was part of his role as a double agent. And then of course there's Remus."

"Remus? What about Remus? Severus detests Remus," scowled Katherine, shoving her hands in her pockets.

"And yet he's safe and relatively well, isn't he? Never went on a doomed mission – escaped from most battles with a barely a scratch," pointed out Robert quietly. "Very lucky that – especially without you there to protect him."

Katherine had stopped walking and was surveying Robert with a calculating expression. "And Severus told you all this, did he?"

"No, but I'm a genius, aren't I?" chuckled Robert, treating Katherine to a sardonic grin.

"You're a hell of a propaganda minister," conceded Katherine, gazing at him from under jet black lashes.

"It makes sense – and he _does_ love you. If you say otherwise you're either in denial or actually insane. I'd prefer to think it's the first, although judging by your behaviour earlier I have to say the latter is not entirely unfeasible," added Robert, looking slightly worried.

"We can trust Potter," assured Katherine, choosing to ignore her friend's theorising on the subject of Severus. "The worst he can do is not accept our help."

"Correction – the worst he can do is go telling on me – like you said, I have everything to lose," put in Robert, brow creasing with anxiety.

"He won't tell."

"How can you be so sure?"

Katherine grinned wickedly. "Because he's not James and he's not Lily. He's a troubled teenage vigilante."

Robert cocked his head to one side and frowned at his friend. "You like him, don't you?"

Katherine chuckled softly. "He's got spirit – something that is severely lacking in most people I know. He was seriously considering hexing us too – us – Death Eaters twice his age. That's not bravery – that's sheer cheek."

"It's stupidity," said Robert flatly, not sharing her enthusiasm.

Katherine shook her head, still grinning. "I think he's smarter than you give him credit for."

"You've changed your tune," observed Robert. "A couple of weeks ago you were calling him a prat."

"Well I hadn't met him then, had I?" said Katherine, smiling. "I thought he was a reckless little hellraiser. How was I to know he was such a…Marauder?"

"Oh no – you did not just use that word as a term of praise," said Robert, pointing accusingly at her. "You've spent far too much time around Gryffindors, Kat."

Katherine just laughed, hugging her arms around herself for warmth. "How are you going to remedy that, then?"

"I'm going to take you out for a drink with proper Slytherins," said Robert decisively. "The old crowd – tomorrow night, at The Centaur's Arms."

"What time?"

"Eight o'clock. Auriga Nott runs it and she'll let us use the back room."

"Fine, I'll see you there then. Now you'd better head back to Cass and get that shoulder seen to," said Katherine, giving him a loose hug. "Go on, push off."

Robert smirked, shaking his head. "You know, I'd hex you if I thought I could get away with it. You're completely ruining my thick-but-hard-as-nails image."

Katherine laughed again and turned away, striding down the street, her black hair rippling slightly in the gentle breeze. Robert gazed after her for a moment then pulled out his wand and disapparated.

x – X – x

The door to Nicola's house swung shut as Katherine stepped out of the shower. She frowned – Nicki wasn't due back from work for at least another two hours. Wrapping herself in one of the large fluffy white towels that lay on the towel rack, she padded out of the bathroom and onto the landing as a figure came up the stairs.

"Severus?" she asked, staring at him in surprise. She hadn't seen him in a month – not since he'd gone to Bulgaria.

"Ah, Katherine – I wondered if you were home," he said softly, dropping a canvas bag on the floor by his bedroom door and surveying her critically. "How are you?"

"Fine," said Katherine distractedly. "What happened to your hair?"

"Hmm? Oh, I had to cut it short for the assignment," he shrugged, tugging absently at a dark lock. "It's growing back," he added, dark eyes flickering to the pile of clothes she'd dropped on the bathroom floor. "Are you sure you're ok?"

"Perfectly healthy, thanks."

"That's someone else's blood, then, is it?" he asked innocuously, gesturing to her blood stained shirt that lay in a crumpled heap behind her. Katherine's innocent expression faltered; she'd washed the blood out of her hair, but she hadn't had time to dispose of her clothes. "What happened?"

"I had a slight disagreement with a wall," shrugged Katherine, shivering slightly in the cool air of the hall.

"Ah."

"You should see the wall," she joked, smiling wanly.

"Are you ok?"

"Bit tired, but I heal fast," shrugged Katherine. "I've had worse injuries."

"That may be true, but it hardly means it's not a cause for concern," remarked Severus. "After all, you've nearly died quite a few times and that's about as bad as you can get. Where did you hit?"

Katherine rolled her eyes. "You sound like-" She broke off, acutely aware that she'd been about to reveal the existence of her cousin to the very man she was most in danger from. If Severus thought Faye's life was putting Katherine in danger he wouldn't hesitate to extinguish it and face the consequences later.

"Like who?" asked Severus lightly, though there was a note of steel in his soft words.

Katherine pulled a face, thinking fast. "Would you be dreadfully offended if I said Remus?"

Severus shook his head in despair and the tense atmosphere melted away immediately. "If you ever say that again to anyone I will hunt you down and use a hex considerably more potent than Ophelia's tickling curse."

Katherine laughed, stepping back inside the bathroom to get changed. "You know you love me really," she said slyly, as she made to shut the door. Severus arched an eyebrow and picked up his bag.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" he said mildly, black eyes devoid of emotion and disappeared into his room, leaving Katherine standing in the hall looking bemusedly after him.

x – X – x

When Nicola Meliflua came home from work that evening it was to find Katherine asleep on the sofa and Severus cooking dinner in the kitchen.

"You're back," she observed, dumping a pile of folders on the kitchen table and smiling at the smell of hot spices from the saucepan Severus was stirring. "Good trip?"

"It was ok. Not much to write home about."

"Yes I did notice that," commented Nicki, shrugging off her travelling cloak and draping it across the back of her chair. "Have you talked to Kat?"

"Yeah, she fell asleep about half an hour ago," said Severus absently, turning the gas down and putting the lid on the saucepan. "Do you know what she was up to today? She refused to tell me."

Nicki looked vaguely surprised. "Up to? She usually goes out somewhere during the day but she's never very forthcoming with the details. Why? Is something wrong?"

"Not exactly – she just got hurt and I was wondering how it happened," said Severus, coming to sit opposite her. "You don't bleed that much from getting pushed against a wall – she must have hit something with considerable force to injure herself that badly and she was out like a light as soon as she lay down on the sofa. Her body must have had to go into healing overdrive to make her that tired."

Nicki frowned, gazing into Severus' troubled eyes. "You know it's probably best not to interfere. If she's keeping quiet there's bound to be a good reason for it."

Severus' frown deepened and he looked agitatedly at his hands. "If she's got herself into trouble again…"

"Severus, she's a fully grown woman. She can do what she likes," said Nicki gently, her dark brown eyes sympathetic but firm.

"Not if it means I'll lose her," said Severus roughly. "I'm not going through that again."

Nicki sighed, knowing exactly how he felt; she remembered all too well that fateful news report sixteen years ago. The journalist had put a rather jaunty spin on the article, as though he was glad she was dead, which he probably was. Nicki smiled grimly as she recalled the article that had appeared the following week reporting that he was now in Saint Mungo's recovering from a rather nasty set of curses that had been slung at him while he was shopping in Diagon Alley. Some people never learned…

"What are you grinning at?" asked Severus, arching a questioning eyebrow.

"Oh nothing," said Nicki, getting up to check on the food. "You can't protect her forever, Severus."

"I can try," he muttered, pushing dark black hair out of his eyes.

"You two are mad," sighed Nicki, taking the saucepan off the heat. "Both trying to save each other at the cost of your own sanity."

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Severus, frowning at her.

"Well look at you. You snap at everyone regardless of whether or not they deserve it and refuse to let anyone close enough to hurt you and Katherine buries herself in work and tries her level best to replace you."

"Katherine doesn't have a job," objected Severus, leaning back in his chair and watching Nicki serve up dinner.

"Well she does something all day," said Nicki, shrugging. "Sometimes all night too. She might not get paid for it but she's definitely got some sort of project going on."

Severus sighed, summoning cutlery and glasses from the cabinet and setting them out on the table. "She was engaged to Black. Did you know that?"

"Yeah, she told me – well, let it slip," said Nicki, levitating the hot plates over to the table and grabbing a bottle of wine from the work top. "Like I said – she was trying to replace you."

"By getting engaged?"

Nicki shrugged again, uncorking the bottle. "Maybe she loved him, but not as much as she loves you."

"No?"

Nicki stopped pouring and looked purposefully into Severus' dark green eyes. "Don't you think she would have brought him back by now if she'd really wanted him that much?"

Severus stared at her, confusion flooding his face. "What?"

"Sirius Black didn't die – he was stunned and fell through a veil," said Nicki brusquely. "Katherine was an Unmentionable, Severus – she may have been in charge of the Hall of Prophecy but that doesn't mean she doesn't know how to work that veil. If he meant more to her than you did he'd be out by now and damn the consequences." Nicki left this to sink in for a minute whilst she finished pouring the drinks, then looked up at her companion again. "You see, Severus. She did have a choice – she chose you."

"She might be waiting for her chance-" began Severus uncertainly, but Nicki cut him off.

"If it had been Remus who fell through that veil, do you honestly think the entire armies of Genghis Khan would have stopped her getting into the Ministry and hauling him back out again?"

Severus considered this for a moment and discovered that he couldn't truthfully say no. "She'd probably send them to sleep and walk right on past them," he muttered, frowning as the implications of this scenario hit him.

"Precisely," agreed Nicki, sipping her wine.

"But she's still angry at me," said Severus quietly.

"Oh yes," said Nicki, a little too heartily for Severus' liking; she could at least have made a half-hearted attempt to deny it. "But she'll get over it, uh, eventually."

"Who'll get over what?" asked Katherine, entering the kitchen and coming to sit beside Nicki, blinking tiredly.

"Severus was rude to some poor Bulgarian girl," grinned Nicki as Katherine summoned another glass and poured herself some wine.

Katherine smirked. "Severus is rude to everyone," she said, looking playfully over at him.

"Is that supposed to be an insult?"

Katherine smiled sleepily. "Would you be offended if it was?"

"Outraged," affirmed Severus, sighing heavily. "In fact I might just have to kill you."

Katherine laughed, glossy black hair falling across her face and obscuring her bright blue eyes. She tucked it behind her ear and grinned mischievously at her old friend. "Bring it on."


	24. Le Rose Noir

**Chapter 23 – Le Rose Noir**

"I'm telling you it wasn't me," insisted Daemon Nott, half laughing, half exasperated.

"Well who was it then?" asked Nicki, her dark brown eyes glinting with puckish delight.

"I don't know – and no, that's not proof it was me!" said Daemon quickly, holding out a hand to stem Nicki's accusation. "Just because I didn't send it doesn't mean I know who did."

"What are you two talking about?" asked Katherine, leaning her head on Daemon's shoulder and gazing over at Nicki with distinctly glazed eyes.

"That singing cupid in sixth year," said Nicki, who wasn't half as drunk as her friend. "Remember the one? It started singing rude limericks in Potions and Professor Delphinus nearly burst a blood vessel when he heard it."

Katherine grinned impishly, dark hair falling across her face and contrasting starkly with her pale skin. "Yeah; we all thought it was hilarious – best prank he ever pulled."

"Who?" asked Nicki sharply, eyes alight with interest. Katherine smiled slyly and placed a carefully manicured finger to her lips. "Was it Black?" demanded Nicki, brow creased suspiciously.

"Black?" asked Severus, glancing up from his conversation with Robert and looking sharply at Katherine who gazed back blandly.

"Not Sirius," she murmured softly. "Don't give yourself a heart attack."

"Regulus?!" asked Nicki, staring at her friend. "That sly little- He swore blind he had nothing to do with it!"

Katherine propped herself upright, chuckling quietly. "Reg was very good at lying. He was very good at a lot of things, come to that. Smart enough to keep it to himself, too."

"Shame he wasn't smart enough to stay alive," remarked Daemon, leaning back into the leather sofa on which they sat. "He broke my sister's heart, dying like that."

Katherine frowned, expression sobering slightly. "Wasn't his fault."

"No?"

Katherine turned her intense, almost angry gaze on him. "No. It wasn't. He didn't deserve it."

"No one deserves to have Bellatrix Lestrange as the last thing they see," murmured Severus idly, running a pale finger around the rim of his wine glass. Katherine fixed him with an odd look, one eyebrow half raised in a question, but was stopped from making a comment by the opening of the door. A woman in her thirties with a head of blonde hair that fell around her face in glossy ringlets entered, carrying an owl on her arm. Hazel eyes sought out Katherine, who was lounging back on the sofa now, looking preoccupied.

"This came for you," said the woman, flicking her wrist so that the owl fluttered down onto the table. Katherine frowned, leaning forward and detaching the small envelope from the owl's leg while Daemon smiled up at his sister.

"Everything all right out there?" he inquired genially.

"Fine – no Aurors yet, at any rate," she said, lips twitching into a smile. "I'm surprised you risked it – if they happened to raid this place they'd be able to knock at least two people off their Top Ten Most Wanted list." Katherine and Severus, the two people in question, exchanged smirks at this and Severus said lazily:

"We'd be long gone before they got through the door, isn't that right, Katherine?"

"Half way to Mexico," grinned Katherine, slitting the envelope open, having first examined the handwriting on the front. She pulled out the single piece of paper inside and frowned down at it.

"Who's it from?" asked Robert, eyeing the owl who, having been relieved of it's epistle, was preening itself on the table.

"I don't know," said Katherine, as Auriga Nott departed, closing and locking the door behind her. A locked door wouldn't be much of a hindrance to a squad of Aurors but it would at least buy her brother and his companions some time, should they be surprised.

"You don't know?" asked Severus, suddenly sounding concerned. "It's not signed?"

"It's not a letter," said Katherine, passing it over, brows creased in concern.

"What is it then?" asked Nicki, stirring her cocktail idly, though her brown eyes were open and attentive.

"It's an article from _Le Bénéfice_," said Katherine, her gaze seeking Robert's. "The journalist claims that there's a group within the Death Eaters who are trying to foil His plans from the inside."

"Is there?" asked Robert, raising his eyebrows and flicking his wand to open a window so that the owl, who was getting restless, could fly out.

"I don't know," said Katherine quietly. "I haven't been back long enough to find out."

"Why so worried, then?"

"Because they're calling the group _Le Rose Noir_," said Katherine darkly, making Robert start.

Cassandra frowned, shifting slightly in her husband's arms. "The Black Rose? What's so bad about that?"

"Could be coincidence," said Katherine quietly, ignoring the question and holding Robert's uneasy gaze.

"Not very likely though, is it?"

"It's more likely than them finding Reg's _arcanus membrana_," said Katherine, forehead creased in a steady frown.

"Much as I hate to interrupt, what are you two going on about?" asked Daemon, eyes flicking from one to the other and back again.

Robert sighed heavily as Cassandra twisted her head round and fixed clear emerald eyes on his face, her expression torn between reproof and anxiety.

"When we were in school, Katherine, Regulus and I had...well, a suppose the best word for it is a secret club but that hardly does it justice."

"And it makes it sound silly and juvenile, which it wasn't," added Katherine. "It was just that we were the only DE's at Hogwarts when we were in sixth year, so we stuck together, and when Regulus joined, we took him under our wing as it were." Katherine shrugged, glancing at Severus who was regarding her with an inscrutable expression on his aristocratic face. "We enchanted some parchment so we could contact each other whenever we needed to – which was surprisingly often, especially if we needed help on missions or something."

"Or just wanted to talk," said Robert, in a subdued voice. "Anyway, seeing as Regulus was good at drawing he created a kind of header for the parchment – mainly so you could tell where you should start writing really – and he chose to do two roses with intertwined stems in black ink; can't remember why – something to do with you, probably," he finished, gesturing at Katherine. "I've still got mine somewhere, I think."

Katherine smiled grimly. "Every rose has thorns, I seem to recall it was," she said softly, blue eyes gleaming with a hint of remembered mischief. "I'm not entirely sure that wasn't a slight on the way we used to operate back then."

"How was that, then?" asked Severus, who had rarely been on a mission with Katherine at any time.

Katherine shrugged nonchalantly. "Damsel in distress; poor, sweet, defenseless little girl trapped by bad men – you'd be surprised what people will tell those who they believe to be in a similar situation to their own."

"Kind of like good cop, bad cop, only the good cop is an undercover agent," observed Daemon dryly. "Bit heartless, isn't it? You didn't even give them a fighting chance."

"Course we did – they were the ones who chose to divulge their secrets to a complete stranger," said Robert absently, mind still on the news article.

Daemon cocked an eyebrow at him. "And you'd be able to keep quiet when thrown in a room with a pretty girl who's upset?" This question made Severus frown, Katherine noticed, and she grinned to herself.

"Am I pretty, then?" she asked, smiling flirtatiously up at Daemon, eyes misted again, the little sobriety disappearing now that thoughts of _Le Rose Noir_ were driven from her mind.

Daemon started, staring at her with something close to horror, acutely aware of Severus' gaze boring holes in the back of his head. "Uh, that's not what I meant…"

"So I'm not pretty?" asked Katherine, pouting and looking mournfully up at him out of wide, baby blue eyes.

"I…have a wife," he said, squirming under her earnest gaze.

"That's not an answer to her question," chided Nicki, suppressing a grin. Daemon scowled at her, casting a nervous glance at Severus who was looking thunderous, though his gaze was not directed at Daemon, but at the girl by his side. Katherine tossed her hair and stared insolently back at Severus, as though daring him to say something.

"Of course you're attractive, Katherine," said Cassandra at length, in an attempt to lighten the mood, the temperature of which had dropped a couple of degrees as a result of the icy looks her friends were exchanging. Katherine's eyes tore themselves away from Severus' black holes and she smiled vaguely at her friend.

"Thanks, but I think…" She paused, unsure of how to continue, then shrugged. "I think I've had rather too much to drink. I need some fresh air." She got up and moved unsteadily towards the back door, stepping outside into the mild autumn evening.

"And I think we oughtn't to let her go wandering about the streets in the state she's in," said Daemon, making to stand and follow her, but Severus was already at the door and through it before he could do so.

The remaining companions exchanged despairing looks and Daemon sat back down, seeming a little relieved.

"D'you think those two are ever going to sort themselves out?" asked Cassandra, gazing at her own rippled reflection in the glass of red she was holding.

"Not with Black's ghost hanging over them," said Robert darkly, thinking back to the diamond ring he'd seen on Katherine's hand and the expression that crossed her face every time the elder Black was mentioned. He picked up the newspaper clipping, chocolate brown eyes flicking uneasily over it. Who had sent it? If Katherine hadn't recognised the handwriting, then was it from friend or foe? A warning – 'be on your guard' – or a threat – 'watch your back, we're on to you'?

He glanced over at the discarded envelope that lay on the table – the writer was female, he was sure of that at least. But who did they know who got the French newspaper? The McKenzie's had been in France, hadn't they? But would they get the paper delivered still? He checked the date on the article and saw it was from yesterday's paper. It could have been Alexandra McKenzie, but why would she send it to Katherine? Why-?

He stopped, suddenly doubting his friend's sincerity. Yes, she was drunk and by nature curious, but she was also a fugitive and criminal and as such was aware of the risks of opening mail from unknown composers. Would she have opened the letter if she hadn't had some idea who it was from? Perhaps denying knowledge of the sender was borne not from ignorance, but from a wish to conceal an identity. That of her cousin's, maybe?

After all, Faye, the blonde woman with so striking a resemblance to his own companion, had to have attended school somewhere and from what he had gleaned from Katherine of the character of her Uncle, that school was unlikely to have been Durmstrang. Beauxbaton, on the other hand, was in France, and the article was from a French newspaper. Faye had seemed to care for her cousin, so sending her warning that the Dark Lord may be alerted to seeking out traitors, whether the rumour be substantial or not, did not seem improbable.

Robert did not think for a second that Faye knew of their 'club' and _arcanus membranae_, as Katherine termed it, but she did seem aware of her cousin's rebellious nature and would want to put her on her guard…

"…Rob?"

Robert blinked, suddenly aware he was being addressed. "What was that?"

"I asked if you were ok," said his wife, studying him with light green eyes. "You looked a million miles away."

"I'm fine," said Robert, putting on a smile for her sake. "Really – don't look so worried."

"Ah, here comes trouble," said Nicki, setting down her glass and giving Daemon a gentle push to shift him. Daemon frowned, but then the sound of raised voices reached his ears and he caught on to Nicki's meaning, moving swiftly across the room and ducking under a tapestry that led to a secret passageway out of the pub.

"…telling you, there's no need for this," came Auriga's gentle, almost amused voice from the hall beyond the door. Nicki waved her wand casually to remove a large majority of empty glasses and bottles from the room and took another sip of her foaming cocktail. Another flick unlocked the door just as the intruders reached it. The handle turned and the door swung open to admit three purposeful looking Aurors and a sighing Auriga Nott.

"Is something wrong?" inquired Cassandra, sitting up and gazing benignly at them.

The Aurors looked a little put out and one cast some sort of searching spells around the room, but it must have come up blank for he shrugged helplessly at his colleagues and murmured: "There's no one else here."

A brown haired man with smoky grey eyes and bushy eyebrows turned his gaze on Nicola who was regarding the three Aurors with an expression that clearly showed irritation whilst at the same time declaring that she was willing to be helpful provided they had a good reason for bursting in on her.

"Miss Meliflua," nodded the grey eyed Auror. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"Nor I, you," she remarked. "What _are_ you doing here?"

"We received some intelligence that certain old acquaintance's of yours were to be found here tonight," replied the Auror, eyes darted around the room as though hoping to catch a hidden renegade sidling towards the door.

"Which acquaintance's would they be?" inquired Cassandra, gazing coolly at him.

"I think you know the ones," he replied, returning her gaze with equal disdain.

Nicola laughed, her dark eyes sparkling. "I'm afraid you're going to have to be a little more specific. If, as I take it, you are pursuing criminals, which I would judge likely after that impertinent entrance, then that probably narrows it down to about half the people we have ever known," she said easily, flashing him a dazzling smile.

The old Auror glared at her and the youngest figure stepped forward, saying: "We were informed that a Mr Snape and possibly a Miss Riddle were to be present here."

"Severus and Katherine?" asked Cassandra incredulously. "I haven't since him since the Summer before last and as for her – isn't she supposed to be dead?"

"It would appear not," growled the older Auror, eyeing her with great suspicion. "You haven't been in contact with either of them, then?"

"Certainly not," said Robert calmly. "One's a murderer, the other is no doubt insane and they're both Death Eaters. They're not exactly the top of our list of people to invite to a quiet lock in."

The grey eyed Auror did not look convinced by this speech, but one of his associates laid a hand on his shoulder and said softly: "There's no one else here – it must have been a bogus tip. Come on, there's no point in lingering any longer – we're needed back at HQ."

Grudgingly, the man turned and strode out of the door without another word. The last of the three, the one who had spoken to Nicki, bid them goodbye and apologised for interrupting their evening, before following in his comrades' wake. Auriga Nott, who had been standing by all the while, grinned at them, relief mingled with wicked amusement evident on her face and shut the door without a word.

Nicola and Cassandra exchanged similar looks and Robert cast a meditative look towards the back door, through which the subjects of the Aurors' raid had disappeared some quarter of an hour previously and wondered how they were getting on.

x – X – x

As a matter of fact, Severus was also wondering something along those lines himself. He'd followed Katherine out of the pub and across the road into the local park. It was empty and dark, the only light being that of the moon and the over spill from nearby houses. When his eyes adjusted to the dim light he saw her sitting on the ground near an expanse of dark water that he supposed must be a pond or lake of some sort.

She didn't look up as he approached, and when he stood beside her and saw her face, he realised she was crying. After hesitating for a moment, he sat down on the dry grass beside her, deliberating what to do. Angry Katherine he could deal with – happy, excited, evil Katherine was fine, but sad Katherine… Well, he'd never been very good with emotions.

They sat in silence for a long time; Katherine absorbed in her own thoughts whilst Severus' dwelt mostly on her.

"Sorry," she mumbled at last, making Severus look up from his reverie.

"For what?" he asked, looking vaguely surprised.

"For getting drunk. I do stupid things when I'm drunk," she answered, rubbing her eyes tiredly. "Such as telling the truth," she added, a touch sardonically.

"Or trying to poison certain arrogant prats?" asked Severus, wondering if she'd remember what he was talking about. Her fine eyebrows drew themselves together in a frown and she was quiet for a while.

"Evan?" she ventured at last. "Did I poison him?"

"Avery found you with arsenic in your hand the night of Fi's funeral," said Severus, gazing out over the lake. Katherine smiled absently and Severus chose to assume that it was the alcohol rather than her that found this amusing, though he wouldn't have been surprised if he was wrong.

"I don't remember that."

"Avery took it off you."

"Why?"

Severus turned and arched an eyebrow at her. "Arsenic isn't the most subtle of poisons, Katherine."

Katherine gazed at him ruefully and Severus could tell from her eyes she wasn't taking much of this in. "Why don't you call me Kat anymore?" she asked languidly, sounding almost accusing. "You haven't called me Kat since I came back."

"I've only seen you a few times," objected Severus, frowning at her with dark eyes. Why should she care about something as trivial as that? He hadn't even noticed his omission of the old nickname. Katherine made a face, as though to indicate that this wasn't a satisfactory excuse in her book, but she was willing to let it slide for the moment, and turned back to the lake.

"Why were you crying?" asked Severus at length, determined to rekindle conversation, even if it meant straying to a subject that he would prefer to forget about altogether.

"I was thinking about Sirius," answered Katherine, not noticing Severus' grimace as she wasn't looking at his face. "He was Remus' last ally."

"Oh."

Katherine raised her gaze from the dark water to look at her companion. "I missed you."

It took Severus a moment to realise that she'd changed the subject, and then another second to process what she'd said. "Missed me?" he repeated, not quite knowing what to say to this sudden confession.

"When you were in Bulgaria," elaborated Katherine. "I'm glad you're back."

"It's good to be back," shrugged Severus. Katherine smiled and leant her head on his shoulder, gazing absently into the darkness that lay before them. They sat in that way for a while, both in perfect silence before Severus noticed that Katherine's eyelids were drooping shut and insisted on taking her home to bed.

Katherine smiled in a way that made Severus slightly uneasy at this suggestion, but she stood up steadily enough and agreed to let him apparate them both back, lest she splinch herself. Severus pulled his wand out of his pocket and Katherine wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head sleepily on his shoulder as he flicked it and transported them both back the relative safety of Nicola's house.

Katherine blinked in the glare of the lamps that illuminated the landing, but her eyes soon adjusted and she smiled happily. "Home."

"Yes," agreed Severus, steadying her with one hand, for she was swaying dangerously. "Home."

She smiled up at him again and ran her fingers lightly down the side of his face, then, to his surprise and utter bewilderment kissed him on the cheek. "Night," she whispered softly, leaving his slackened grip and entering her room, before collapsing on her bed and falling promptly asleep.

Outside on the landing, Severus Snape stared bemusedly at her closed bedroom door for a full five minutes before retiring to his own room, where, unlike Katherine, he lay awake till dawn, head filled with unanswered questions.

**x – X – x**

R&R!


	25. An issue of trust

**Chapter 24 – An issue of trust**

_**Stevenson Residence, 19 years previously**_

_"Seriously mate, are you sure you know what you're doing?" asked James Potter, hazel eyes studying his best friend closely with a concerned expression. "I thought you were trying to leave all that behind."_

_Sirius shook his head, waving the hand that held a pint glass carelessly. "She's not like that – she wasn't brought up by purists, Prongs. She's…pretty normal."_

_Remus, who was sitting on the window sill behind them snorted into his glass at this remark and regarded Sirius with an amused expression. "How long have you been going out with her, Padfoot? Three years and you still think she's normal?"_

_"What? She is!" protested Sirius, looking bewildered as Remus shook his head in despair._

_"She's also been eyeing up Eric Bateman for the past five minutes," chipped in Peter, joining them._

_"What?" asked Sirius, whirling round, seeking out his girlfriend in the crowd of vague acquaintances. They were at Samantha Stevenson's wedding reception and the guest list mostly consisted of their old school mates, minus all Slytherins save for Katherine, who Sirius had insisted on bringing despite her protests that everyone would shun her. This hadn't in fact happened, but as Lily pointed out, this was most probably because everyone was too scared of what might befall them if they scorned her, rather than out of the goodness of their hearts._

_Sirius spotted his nefarious girlfriend talking to Elliot North on the far side of the room and looking bored out of her mind. He frowned, wondering if Peter had been winding him up, but then he saw her eyes flicker over Elliot's shoulder in the direction of…yes, Eric Bateman. He scowled, and threaded his way over to her, ignoring Remus' chiding of Peter for being ridiculous._

_"Everything all right, darling?" he asked, slipping an arm around Katherine's waist and frowning slightly at Elliot. Elliot backed off hurriedly, muttering some excuse or other and Katherine glanced up at him, bright blue eyes almost surprised._

_"Fine – utterly bored, but fine. Is something up? You look like someone's scratched your motorbike."_

_"Hey – don't joke about that," said Sirius, treating her to his best puppy dog look. She laughed and kissed him by way of apology, then lent her head back on his shoulder and resumed her study of Eric. "But since you ask…" he said slowly._

_"What?" she asked, tearing her gaze away and looking up into his reproving eyes. "What's wrong?"_

_"Aside from the fact that you're either incredible callous or deliberately trying to make me jealous?" he asked, looking hurt. Katherine's innocent gaze descended to confusion and she arched a questioning eyebrow at him. "Bateman," he said, contriving to put as much feeling into the one word as possible._

_"Bateman…? Oh – oh, no, I wasn't-" she laughed, relaxing in his arms and stroking his hair absently with one hand. "I was just wondering what he was doing here."_

_"You know him?"_

_"Uh huh," she replied, casting another glance in his direction and this time Sirius could see the real feeling behind it – distrust._

_"Dare I ask how?" he ventured, arms unconsciously clasping her waist a little tighter._

_"Tom," she answered, twisting her head to look up at him. "Can't see anyone else thou-" She stopped, and Sirius followed her gaze. His eyes settled on a young boy of about twelve who was gazing calmly at Katherine with amber eyes. Something about the boy's face reminded Sirius of someone, but he couldn't quite place it at that moment._

_"He's a bit young, isn't he?" asked Sirius, giving his mind time to try and make the connection._

_"In training," muttered Katherine, twisting herself out of his arms and gliding through the crowd to meet the boy. Sirius leant against the wall, watching her talk quietly to him and he suddenly realised who the boy reminded him of – those hollow cheekbones and narrow eyes were Snape's._

_"You two haven't had a fight, have you?" asked James, sauntering up to his friend and unfortunately not hiding the hope in his voice incredibly well. Sirius scowled at him, but he couldn't hold a grudge against James for anything and gave up the futile attempt to make his friend feel remorse for his relentless suspicion of his girlfriend. He sighed and shook his head._

_"Bateman's a DE."_

_James started, staring at his friend. "Seriously?"_

_"Kat may be many things, but she's not a liar – not about things like that," said Sirius firmly, taking a swig of his beer._

_"But he just went outside with Frank – said he had something to show him," said James, hazel eyes clearly showing his anxiety. Sirius opened his mouth to try and assuage his friend's fears, but Katherine reappeared at that moment, looking grim._

_"Then I suggest you get after him," she said in a quiet voice, nodding in the direction of the door. "Otherwise Frank won't be around for very much longer…"_

x – X – x

"Well she sounds absolutely mental," pronounced George Weasley, tossing down the paper and grinning at his brother. Fred shook his head, laughing and continued stacking the shelves of their shop.

Tonks frowned, drumming her fingertips on the counter. "It's not funny – she's dangerous. Just...look out for anyone suspicious, all right?"

"We've seen her picture, Tonks," said Fred, standing up and looking seriously at her. "We weren't planning on giving her guided tour of this place or anything."

"No," agreed George. "But you have to admit, her track record is pretty cool. I mean not many people would decide the easiest way to get rid of a dozen Aurors is to turn the floor they're standing on into a portkey."

"Who told you about that?" asked Tonks, her dark eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"Moody," said Fred, grinning again. "He really hates her, doesn't he?"

"It took him years to catch her," said Tonks grudgingly. "He's not all too keen on her being out again."

"Is it true they've let him back on the Auror squad?" asked George, opening the till and starting to count out the change for that day.

Tonks made a face; she didn't know how these two managed to find out all this stuff. "He's advising on the case," she admitted. "He's known her for a long time, so they thought it wise to consult him."

The twins exchanged a look, then Fred asked carefully: "Have they consulted Remus?"

Tonks looked sharply up at him. "What?"

"He knows her, doesn't he? They went to school together," put in George.

Tonks frowned but was saved from saying anything by a knock at the door. Fred peered round the shelves to see who it was, then hurried to open the door. He returned a moment later, Remus himself in tow.

"Remus, what are you doing here?" asked Tonks, beaming at him.

"I've got a message from Molly – she's cooking a large meal tonight and wants everyone there – you included, Tonks," answered Remus, smiling back at her.

"What's the occasion?" asked George, shutting the till and looking over it at Remus.

"Well Bill and Fleur came back from their honeymoon last week and now they've got settled in their flat your Mum wanted to welcome her into the family properly, I think," said Remus, shrugging. "And she said to tell you specifically not to pull any pranks, ok?"

"Well you can tell her we'll be there," nodded Fred, returning to his shelf stacking.

"But we can't give a guarantee on the no jokes ban," added George, grinning broadly.

Remus chuckled and Tonks slid off the chair she'd been sitting on. "Well I'd best get back to work – I'm meant to be giving out warnings and you two have kept me here for over half an hour," she said, pointing accusingly at the twins.

"You could have left," objected George, looking innocent. "You were just enthralled with our charming company."

Tonks laughed and shook her head despairingly, then left the shop with Remus. Fred glanced at George thoughtfully, holding a box of brightly coloured fireworks in his hands.

"Well it is supposed to be a celebration," he said quietly.

x – X – x

_**Godric's Hollow, 19 years previously**_

_"Now James, be nice," said Lily Potter, looking severely at her husband._

_"What?" asked James, face the picture of innocence. "I am nice."_

_"I think what she's trying to say, Prongs, is don't scowl at Katherine all evening like you did last time," said Remus lightly, as the doorbell rang._

_"I did not scowl at her all evening," protested James as Lily went to answer the door. Remus raised an eyebrow, looking reprovingly at his friend. "Ok, maybe I frowned a little-"_

_"Prongs?" Sirius Black's familiar head appeared round the door and James broke off hurriedly._

_"Hi," he grinned, then, after an encouraging look from Remus added, "How's Katherine?"_

_"Fine, but she couldn't come - had to work late," said Sirius carelessly, sauntering into the kitchen and pouring himself a drink. James brightened up considerably at this news and by the time Peter arrived he was back to his normal self._

_The five of them spent an enjoyable evening together until the doorbell rang again at half ten. James answered it, but the grin on his face disappeared when he saw who it was._

_"I thought you were working late," he frowned, leaning on the door frame._

_Katherine arched an eyebrow. "I was. I work quick." She frowned for a moment then asked suddenly, "Is Meredith Tyler your cousin?"_

_James started, hazel eyes narrowing slightly. "Why?"_

_"'Cause she's in Saint Mungo's," said Katherine promptly. "Got attacked – don't worry, she's fine – it's just a cautionary procedure. They're keeping her in overnight for observation."_

_A flurry of emotions crossed James' face at this news and settled on confusion. "How do you know this?"_

_"Like I said," said Katherine quietly. "I was working."_

_"At the Mi-" James stopped at the look Katherine gave him and smiled sourly. "Not at the Ministry."_

_"No."_

_"But Meredith's all right?" asked James softly._

_"Yes, hardly a scratch on her," reassured Katherine, her blue eyes sincere. "I just thought I should let you know."_

_"Who is it, Prongs?" asked Remus over his shoulder as he headed to the kitchen to fetch more drinks. James was about to answer when Katherine put a finger to her lips and shook her head, retreating into the shadows of the garden. James' hesitation in answering, however, caused Remus to stop and walk over to him. "Everything ok?"_

_"Yeah," said James quietly, shutting the door softly. "Fine."_

x – X – x

"How are we going to get a note to Avery?" asked Ron, running a troubled hand through his already messy hair. "I mean, trying to make it look inconspicuous is just going to make it more so."

"Well how about if we just ask Remus to contact Katherine?" suggested Hermione, sighing heavily. "She did say he'd probably do it."

"And ask a lot of questions," put in Harry, shaking his head. "We don't ask Remus unless we _really_ need to. We'll just have to send Avery the note."

"And you trust him?" asked Hermione, brown eyes sceptical.

"About as much as I trust Katherine," shrugged Harry, wiping his glasses on his shirt. "Probably less, actually."

"Precisely," said Hermione quickly. "Avery didn't seem that keen on us – at least we know Katherine won't betray us – she likes Remus too much to do anything to hurt him."

"But if we could send her an owl, she would have said," said Harry tiredly. "There's got to be a reason we can't and there'd be a lot of trouble if it got intercepted."

_"Ron! Harry! Hermione! Dinner's ready!" _Mrs Weasley's voice floated up to them, bringing an end to their conversation and summoning them downstairs. The table was set out in the garden and magically enlarged to fit everyone in. Tonks and Remus were there, along with Alastor Moody and Kingsley Shacklebolt. Mrs Weasley went inside to get some more punch and came back two minutes later accompanied by Faye Belle.

"Someone to see you, Remus," said Mrs Weasley, setting the drink down on the table and nodding at Faye. Remus glanced up and smiled and a few people called hello to Faye. Harry however looked cautiously at Faye out of the corner of his eye. Remus had smiled when he saw Faye, true, but then he'd frowned. It was a momentary thing, only lasting a second but Harry had noticed it and it didn't seem consistent with the greeting of old friends.

"Are you staying?" asked Tonks, smiling up at Faye, who shook her head.

"Just dropping off some papers for Remus," she answered, pulling some folders out of the bag she had slung over her shoulder. Remus stood up to take them, looking slightly bemused to Harry. "Stuff on the Dark Arts," she added in a softer voice, though still smiling pleasantly. Harry wondered if he was imagining it, but there was something distinctly un-Fayish about that smile.

At that moment there was an explosion that made Ron spill his punch over the table and everyone stared towards the far end of the garden where three rockets had just zoomed into the air, leaving trails of sparks behind them. A second later another firework ignited, spinning round and round in a tight wheel of white fire.

Harry joined in the laughter with the rest of them, though his eyes were drawn once again to Faye. There was something not right about her, he was sure of that. His eyes fell to the wand that was tucked into the belt of her jeans and started. He hadn't seen Faye that much, but he was positive her wand had been made of some kind of light wood – beech or maple or _something_, but whatever it was, it wasn't as dark as the wand that was now rested on her hip – that was ebony or mahogany surely. What were the chances she'd changed her wand? Were they less than the chance that the person standing next to Remus wasn't her?

Above them the remainder of the fireworks exploded in a shower of sparks and a whining rocket spelt out something Harry couldn't understand in French.

"Welcome to the family, Fleur," read Faye, smiling slightly and then Remus did something that made Harry positive that whoever it was, it definitely wasn't Faye that had given Remus the papers – he turned sharply and whispered something urgently in her ear as Fleur squealed delightedly and hugged Fred and George.

"What's wrong?" asked Hermione quietly, as Fleur turned to hug Faye, who smiled brightly at her and said something in French.

"That's not Faye," answered Harry in a low voice. Ron looked up at him, startled.

"Then who-?" asked Hermione, but Ron nudged her and raised his eyebrows.

"Who'd you think," he said quietly, glancing towards her. "Who else knows Remus?"

"She wouldn't risk it..." began Hermione, darting a cautious glance at Moody. "Would she?"

"Remus did say she wasn't exactly an animagus," said Harry in a soft voice. "The only other thing I know that can change shape at will is a metamorphmagus."

They all looked over at Remus and 'Faye' again, trying to find something that would confirm their suspicions as Fleur laughed and returned to her seat next to Bill. Faye said something quietly to Remus who nodded.

"I'd better be off," she said in a slightly louder voice, though Harry still had to strain to hear it. "Lessons to plan and all that."

"Right, I'll see you some other time, then," agreed Remus. Faye smiled and cast an eye towards the smoking remains of the fireworks.

"Almost worthy of the Marauders, that."

Remus laughed and muttered something in the affirmative, not noticing Fred and George's heads whip round to stare at the two old friends.

"Marauders?" asked George, trying to sound nonchalant and failing.

Faye glanced at them, then at Remus, who was frowning.

"You know the Marauders?" asked Fred, eyes alight with interest.

"Oh dear, have I got you into trouble?" asked Faye, looking at Remus with bright emerald eyes and trying very hard to suppress a smirk. The twins frowned at this comment and Faye grinned wickedly at them. "Yes, I think I'd better go now." She smiled slyly at Remus who was still looking confused and hoisted her bag up onto her shoulder. "Bye Moony."

Fred and George's eyes very nearly popped out of their heads at this last remark and rounded on Remus who was half smiling now. "Ah, I always did wonder where Harry got the map from," he said quietly.

Faye grinned at him and walked towards the back door, intending to leave. Harry jumped up from his seat, muttering something about needing the toilet and followed her. He caught up with her by the front door.

"Katherine?"

Faye stopped, turning her head to look at him with narrowed eyes. "Damn you're sharp."

"Can I talk to you?" he asked as she leant against the door, arms folded.

"You are, aren't you?"

"It's about...them."

"What about _them_?" asked Katherine, her eyes playful. "We haven't found anything yet if that's what you're wondering."

"No, I just wanted to tell you that two of them are already destroyed. And," he hesitated, then pressed on resolutely. "And there are seven of them. Probably." He shrugged and added, "That's what Dumbledore thought anyway."

Katherine tilted her head sideways, surveying him with interest. "What were the other two?"

"A diary and a ring. I destroyed the diary and Dumbledore did the ring," answered Harry in a subdued voice.

"A diary?" asked Katherine, arching an eyebrow. "Tom had a diary?"

"He used it to possess...someone. It made them open the Chamber of Secrets," said Harry, glancing up at her.

"And you found the Chamber?"

"Yes."

"You went in a girl's bathroom?" Harry stared at her and she smiled grimly. "You're not the only one who found it. You can speak parseltongue, then?"

"Yes," replied Harry quietly. "I didn't know the diary was a horcrux when I destroyed it."

"No, you were only twelve I seem to recall," she said, looking oddly at him.

"How do you know that?"

She smiled again and said mysteriously, "You're the stuff of legends, Potter. A friend told me – no, not Remus. A different friend. How did you kill it, anyway?"

Harry frowned at the term 'kill' but replied: "I stabbed it with a basilisk fang."

Katherine arched an eyebrow again. "And where was the basilisk at this point?"

"Dead."

"Who killed it?"

"I did."

"With magic?"

"No, with a sword," said Harry, frowning. "Why all the questions?"

"I'm intrigued," said Katherine, smiling languidly. "What about the ring?"

"It was Salazar's – I don't know how Dumbledore destroyed it," replied Harry, glancing back towards the garden. Someone was sure to come looking for him in a minute, though Ron and Hermione would hopefully stall them for as long as possible.

"Well in that case we're over half way there. Assuming the seventh part is in Tom, that leaves us two more to find."

Harry frowned at her, not quite agreeing with her arithmetic. "Three more," he said slowly.

Katherine smiled. "I forgot to tell you – I destroyed one too. A statue – when I was seventeen." She laughed, though Harry could detect little mirth in it. "I didn't know it was a horcrux either."

"What was the statue of?" asked Harry, not quiet sure he believed her, but her next words convinced him of the sincerity of her words.

"Rowena Ravenclaw."

_Something of Ravenclaw's. That just left Hufflepuff's cup and Nagini..._

"Dumbledore thought Nagini might be one," ventured Harry. "And he thinks Tom stole Hufflepuff's cup, too."

Katherine raised her eyebrows. "Nagini?"

"Voldemort's snake."

"Tom has a snake?" asked Katherine, giving Harry an incredulous look. "Seriously? Well, I'll see if I can find her – it should be easy enough to do away with her, but we'd better leave that till last. I'm pretty sure Tom will notice if someone kills his pet – better aim for the cup first."

"You said you had an idea where to look?"

"I'm working on it."

"The locket was in a cave," offered Harry and Katherine smiled grimly.

"Ah, well that eliminates one place. I thought he might have hidden one there – it was the first time he really used his powers, I believe. Well I'll see what I can do. Something as powerful as a horcrux corrupts the things around it."

Harry frowned at this. "The locket didn't."

"No? Kreacher was always a spiteful little thing, but he wasn't mental," said Katherine quietly. "He wasn't normal Harry – that kind of madness doesn't stem from being alone for a couple of decades. I should know; the Death Eaters who escaped from Azkaban had the Dementors to deal with and even they're not as crazy as Kreacher was." She sighed heavily as the clock in the lounge struck nine. "I should go. I promise I'll owl as soon as something comes up. Goodbye Harry."


	26. Rebel or traitor?

**Chapter 25 – Rebel or traitor?**

Faye frowned at the knock on the door and opened it cautiously, starting at the sight of the man on the other side.

"Remus? You didn't tell me you were coming."

"I didn't know I would be," answered Remus, shifting a box of papers in his arms and smiling ruefully at her. "Special delivery from your delightful cousin."

Faye raised her eyebrows and stood back to let him in. "What is it?"

"Her papers," answered Remus, dropping the box on her desk and lifting the uppermost folder up for her to see. "Just in case any of her friends come snooping."

Faye took the folder and flicked through it, expression darkening as she did so. "Katherine did that?" she asked, clear green eyes gazing imploringly at him, and Remus wished he could say no, say Katherine had made it up to throw people off the scent, but he couldn't.

He didn't even have to look at the file to know that every word was the truth; that was the thing about Katherine – she saw no reason to lie in matters like this. There were many situations where little white lies could have saved some embarrassment or pain, but Katherine only thought long term, and if Faye getting a rude awaking to the real character of her cousin now was going to keep her safe from prying Death Eaters, then it was a price Katherine was willing to pay.

"Look, just put it in your cupboard somewhere – there's bound to be a secret panel or something," said Remus softly, not meeting her eye. "Don't leave them lying around – Katherine wouldn't and anyone who knows her knows that."

"So she did do it?" asked Faye, a despondent note in her voice. Remus sighed heavily, raking a hand through his thinning, sandy blond hair.

"What does it say?"

"She made an attack on Diagon Alley."

Remus shrugged. "Probably. There were lots of attacks in the last war – I wouldn't be surprised if she was in some of them."

"On the 22nd September?" asked Faye earnestly.

"The 22nd?" repeated Remus, wondering why the date seemed so familiar for a second, then realising. "That's today's date, isn't it?"

Faye stared at him for a moment, then looked back down at the paper to check the year. "Oh," she said quietly as Remus grabbed some Floo powder from the pot above the fireplace, muttered a quick goodbye and shot off to the Burrow.

x – X – x

Harry and Ron stood in the corner of the almost empty bookshop as Hermione browsed the shelves, looking for any books that might help them defend themselves from...well, everything. Death Eaters, horcruxes, Katherine & Robert.

Abruptly Hermione pulled one last book from the shelf and walked back over to Harry and Ron.

"Right, that's enough for now at least," she said, holding up the five heavy volumes and smiling tiredly. "Just got to pay for them and we can go home."

"Here, I'll help you carry them," put in Ron quickly, taking the top three books in his own hands. Harry grinned as he watched his two friends walk over to the counter and glanced at the clock on the wall above the shop assistant's head. 10:32am. At that moment, the door of the shop swung open and Lupin strode in looking, in Harry's opinion, rather worried.

He stepped forward to meet his father's old friend and ask him what was wrong but was prevented from doing so by the hand that was suddenly covering his mouth and the whisper of _"Petrificus Totalus"_ that pinned down his arms. Harry looked down, having the use of his eyes left at least, and found to his surprise that he couldn't see the hand that gagged him. _They're using a disillusionment charm,_ he realised vaguely, still struggling to free himself from the curse that bound him.

Outside the screams started and at that moment, Remus caught sight of him and hurried over. Harry felt the person behind shift and Harry knew that whoever it was, they were taking aim at Remus. Harry tried frantically to warn him, though since he only had control over his eyes and he wasn't touching his wand, this proved rather difficult.

Harry screwed his eyes shut, hoping that this would make Remus pause or figure out something was wrong. He didn't know what he'd do if he lost Remus too – he felt just as helpless as he had done on the tower last year, the night Dumbledore fell...

The sound of a falling body made his eyes snap open again but he only had time to catch a glimpse of a heap of black robes on the floor before the world promptly disappeared and reappeared again with disconcerting speed.

The person holding him relaxed their grip on his shoulder and sat him on the floor in a cold stone room, materialising as they did so. Harry stared up as the figure pulled back their hood to reveal glossy black hair and for a moment Harry thought everything was going to be all right.

Then he remember the woman had fired at Remus and his eyes met the dark ones behind the white mask – dark eyes, not blue. It wasn't Katherine; it wasn't even close. The woman removed her mask, laughing throatily and Harry looked up into the gaunt face of Bellatrix Lestrange.

The tangled heap of black clothes on the floor of Flourish and Blotts moved and a white mask was tossed aside as a slim figure got up, kneeling on the floor beside the man she'd been lying on top of.

"Rem, are you ok?"

Remus Lupin groaned in answer and rolled over, blood pouring from his nose. The other figure in the black hood waved her wand and the blood vanished immediately.

"If you think I'm going to say thanks you've got another thing coming," muttered Remus, looking gravely at her. The figure shrugged and looked at the spot where Harry had been standing moments before. "Where is he?" asked Remus suddenly, following her gaze. He looked quickly at Ron and Hermione who were looking shocked.

"He just disappeared," said Ron quietly. "He froze, then disappeared. Where'd he go?"

Remus turned back to look at the black robed figure who was scanning the faces peering at her from under the dark hood that concealed her face. She caught Remus looking at her and he could tell her expression from the tone of her voice when she spoke.

"How the bloody hell should I know? I was more concerned with the fact that she'd just shot AK at you."

Remus glanced at the bookcase behind her and saw the smoke rising from the still smoldering scorch mark the spell had left.

"Who is _she_?" he asked, more calmly than he felt.

The figure was silent, though Remus could see her fingers fidgeting in her pockets – no, not fidgeting-

"What are you doing?" he asked sharply and when she still didn't answer he raised a hand to grab her shoulders. She shied away at his touch and a few seconds later her fingers stopped moving. "What have you done?" asked Remus in a tired voice.

"Covered my tracks," she answered, the smile evident in her voice. Remus glanced around and saw that the few other customers in the bookshop all wore vaguely glazed expressions. To his surprise however, Ron and Hermione did not. He grabbed his friend's arm and gestured to Ron and Hermione. "Back to the Burrow – now. Are the anti-apparation wards up?" This last question was aimed at the woman by his side.

"Meant to be."

"But are they?"

"No."

"Good, because you are coming with me."

x – X – x

Molly Weasley looked up at the sound of two people tumbling into the living room and poked her head around the kitchen door to see her two sons brushing soot off themselves.

"Fred? George? What's wrong?"

"Attack on Diagon Alley," answered Fred, scowling darkly as two more people materialised in the middle of the room. Molly stared at Ron and Hermione, taking in their pale faces, then glanced up the stairs. She'd been wondering why it was so quiet.

"Please tell me you weren't in Diagon Alley," she said quietly. "Not on your own."

"We were only going to be ten minutes, Mum," said Ron in a small voice. "We knew no one would let us go by ourselves-"

"Hang on, who's we?" asked Molly, anger turning to worry. If Ron & Hermione had gone, she very much doubted Harry would have been content to stay behind. The two friends were saved from answering, however by the sudden appearance of Remus and a struggling figure in heavy black robes.

_"- the hell off me!"_

Remus glanced at Molly, smiling tightly and increasing his grip on the hooded figure. "Don't worry, Molly. Everything is under control."

"Everything is bloody well_ not _under control," snarled the hooded figure, but Remus just pulled open the nearest door, which happened to lead to what served as the Weasley's study/library/general junk room, dragged the figure in and shut the door firmly behind them. A second later, they heard the lock click and a voice say sarcastically:

"Yeah, that's going to stop me leaving."

Remus said something quietly in return and the woman laughed bitterly. Mrs Weasley stared at the locked door for a moment, then turned to her son.

"Where's Harry?"

Ron rubbed the back of his neck, looking extremely uncomfortable and said in a voice that was barely more than a whisper. "We don't know."

_"You left him?"_

"No!" said Ron quickly. "He disappeared."

"We think someone took him," added Hermione, eyes brimming with tears.

"And who is Remus yelling at?" asked George, glancing towards the door from which Remus' angry tones could be clearly held. Hermione shrugged hopelessly.

"Haven't seen their face," put in Ron, sinking into a chair and trying very hard to stop himself from shaking. Hermione perched on the arm of the chair next to him, tears now trickling silently down her cheeks. The unseen voices filled the room again with renewed anger.

_"Don't you dare blame me, Remus Lupin. How the hell was I supposed to know he'd be there? I'm not his personal bodyguard and he's seventeen, he can look after himself!"_

_"You could have stopped her!"_

_"Not without getting myself killed!"_

_"You saved me!"_

_"You aren't important! If I rescued him Tom would kill me!"_

_"And that would be bad, would it?"_

In the silence that followed this exchange Fred looked quizzically at Ron & Hermione.

"That's a Death Eater he's got in there with him, isn't it?" he asked eventually, in a comparatively level voice. Hermione gave a weak shrug and Ron made a small noise of confirmation. "And he's talking to her like that?"

The fireplace flared green suddenly and Tonks stumbled out her face grave, her Auror's robes torn in places.

"Is everyone all right?" she asked breathlessly, casting a quick look round. "Where's Remus? And Harry?"

"Remus is fine," said Molly, her voice trembling slightly. "He's in there," she added, gesturing towards the door behind which Remus and his companion were continuing their sudden silence. "Harry-" She stopped, voice breaking into sobs.

"What?" asked Tonks, dark eyes wide and alert. "What's happened to him?"

"He got taken," said Ron quietly.

"Taken?" repeated Tonks. "Have you told the Ministry?"

"Only just got back," filled in George. "We got distracted."

"By what?" asked Tonks incredulously, staring at him as if he was mad. On cue, a sudden thump and a loud curse issued from the adjoining room and Remus' voice said dryly:

_"Well that was smart, wasn't it?"_

_"Shut up."_

Tonks frowned and asked quietly: "Who was that?"

x – X – x

Remus shut the door and Katherine finally tugged her arm out of his grip, rubbing her wrist pointedly. Remus ignored her and locked the door with a flick of his wand.

"Yeah, that's going to stop me leaving," remarked Katherine sarcastically, arching an eyebrow at him.

"No, I am. You won't leave, Katherine, because if you do I will not talk to you again," said Remus calmly, turning to face her.

Katherine laughed sourly, and sat on the edge of a desk, shaking back her hood. "That wouldn't be a smart move."

"I think we both know you'd suffer more than I would from it," he replied, brown eyes deadly serious.

"I survived before," she argued, gazing insolently back at him.

"And you're sane now, are you?" he asked, meeting her gaze easily. She didn't answer, choosing to look around the room instead. "Where's Harry?"

"I don't know. It was just an attack on Diagon Alley – we didn't have orders to take anyone prisoner," she said carelessly. "It was an opportunist kidnapping."

"And you didn't think to intervene?" asked Remus, voice edged with anger. Katherine's gaze snapped back to him, her expression altering in a second.

"Intervene?" she asked in a dangerously quiet voice.

"Yes, intervene – you could have stunned the person you seem to know was holding him," answered Remus sharply, his anger at his old friend breaking through his calm demeanor. Why had she let Harry be taken? She knew he was vital to the ultimate destruction of Voldemort – she'd said herself she knew the prophecy.

"Don't you dare blame me, Remus Lupin. How the hell was I supposed to know he'd be there? I'm not his personal bodyguard and he's seventeen, he can look after himself!" snapped Katherine, scowling at him.

"You could have stopped her!" retorted Remus.

"Not without getting myself killed!"

"You saved me!"

"You aren't important!" said Katherine dismissively, knowing it was harsh but that it was also true. Why should Tom care if a werewolf managed to escape death? He couldn't care less who his daughter spent her time with, but if she stopped Bella taking Potter to him he would _know_ she was up to something. "If I rescued him Tom would kill me!"

"And that would be bad, would it?" snapped Remus, regretting his words immediately. The look on her face brought back a conversation they'd had in seventh year when she'd told him what her greatest fear was. _"Sometimes I think I should just grab Tom and find a very high cliff to jump off. It'd save a lot of lives."_

"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I didn't mean it."

"I know."

Remus hung his head, rubbing his face tiredly. He couldn't remember the last time he'd argued like this with Katherine – not for years, certainly.

"It's just, Harry's important – and he's James' son. If anything happened to him I don't know what I'd do," he sighed, feeling drained suddenly. This wasn't how things were supposed to be – none of it. James and Sirius were supposed to be alive – this war wasn't supposed to be happening...

"He'll be ok," said Katherine quietly, surprising Remus.

"And you know that for sure, do you?"

"No, but I know her. She won't take him straight to Tom."

"And how's he going to get out?" asked Remus, raising an eyebrow.

"He's bright. He'll find a way," shrugged Katherine. Remus took a long look at her then said shrewdly:

"Sirius was his godfather, you know." Katherine looked up, clear blue eyes studying him suspiciously, but didn't say anything. "If things had been different, if Peter had been discovered and you hadn't gone to Azkaban, Harry would have gone to you two."

Katherine stared at him, trying to decide whether or not to laugh. "Dumbledore wouldn't have allowed that."

"James wanted Sirius to raise his son if anything happened to him and Sirius would have fought tooth and nail to ensure his wishes were granted," said Remus gently. "I don't think even Dumbledore could have persuaded him otherwise." He smiled slightly. "He never did persuade him to ditch you, and it wasn't through lack of trying."

Katherine gazed cynically at him from under jet black lashes. "Could you seriously imagine me raising James' son?"

Remus tilted his head to one side, surveying her interestedly. "Oh I don't know, you two were being almost civil to each other near the end."

Katherine smiled sourly and slid off the desk, walking around the room and finally stopping next to Remus, leaning her head against the wall, eyes closed. "I hate you sometimes, you know. You're so damn...right." She scowled, thumping the wall with her fist and cursing colourfully.

"Well that was smart, wasn't it?"

"Shut up," she growled. "It made me feel better."

A knock on the door to their room made both of them start and a soft voice called anxiously: "Remus? Are you ok?"


	27. The female of the species

**Disclaimer: **The book extracts in this chapter are from Nineteen Eighty Four by George Orwell and I do not own them in any way, shape or form. Well, I have a copy of the book, but I certainly didn't write it. :)

**Chapter 26 – The female of the species**

"Good day, Potter." She said it cordially, but there was a mad glint in those eyes that made her seem not quite human and gave an unpleasant edge to the words. Harry said nothing; not that he could, even if he'd wanted to – the_ Petrificus Totalus_ hex was still very much in place. Bellatrix laughed again and got her to her feet. "Don't go anywhere," she said softly. "I'll be back soon."

Harry watched angrily as she turned and opened a heavy metal door. Beyond it, Harry could just see the grey stone walls of a long corridor before Bella shut the door firmly behind her. Harry resigned himself to the fact that he couldn't do anything in the state he was in at the moment and decided to see if there were any ways out of the room aside from the door which he could take if he ever did manage to get free.

A quick survey of the room destroyed this illusion, however. It was perfectly clear that there was no way out of this room, except for the door, especially without a wand. Harry frowned inwardly at this last thought. _Without a wand? But had Bellatrix actually taken his wand?_

He tried to think, but couldn't remember her snatching it from him. If that was the case, it should still be in his pocket… He concentrated and was sure he could feel it there through the material in his jeans; a slight pressure against his right thigh.

Suddenly he was aware of muffled footsteps in the corridor and then the door swung open admitting, not Bellatrix, but a younger woman with flaming red hair and dark brown eyes. She smiled delightedly and pulled out her own wand, casting some sort of spell. A moment later her eyes darted towards his right pocket and a quick _Accio_ charm relieved him of his wand. So much for that idea.

The woman chuckled softly at his glare and at that moment Bellatrix's voice came floating down the corridor:

"…very amusing, Iscariot."

The woman glanced around and Harry heard Bella greet her. "Find anything?"

"Yes, you forgot to take his wand." Harry thought he saw a flicker of annoyance cross Bella's face, but it only lasted a second.

"Well it's not as though he could have used it," she shrugged, crouching down to Harry's level and smiling manically. "Could you, Potter? Ickle baby Potter – all alone and helpless. How does it feel knowing you've lost?"

Harry glared at her, hatred radiating off him. This woman had killed Sirius, maybe killed Remus – no, he wouldn't think like that. Remus would be ok – he'd have ducked, wouldn't he? Wouldn't he? But then what had the crash on the floor been?

Bellatrix seemed to read his thoughts – and, Harry realised a moment later, that's exactly what she had done. He never had been very good at Occlumency.

"Yes, Potter, your precious wolf is dead," smirked Bellatrix. "The Order's pet is no more."

Harry wanted to lash out then, he felt he'd give just about anything to get his hands round Bella's throat and wipe that stupid smirk off her face once and for all. A new, male voice intruded on his thoughts and the words he said distracted him sufficiently that he actually listened instead of trying to think up new ways of killing the woman in front of him.

"You killed Lupin? Damn, Bella. Riddle's going to murder you."

Bella arched an eyebrow, her gaze still fixed on Harry.

"You think so? She didn't even touch me when I killed my dear sweet cousin."

"Black?" asked the red haired woman. "Why would she care about him?"

"They were going out," said Bella, standing once more.

The man, who Harry could see now that Bella had moved, laughed. "Oh come off it, Bella. I know Riddle's not exactly the most conventional person in the world, but she wouldn't touch Black with a barge pole – he was a blood traitor. Her father would kill her."

"He never found out," shrugged Bella.

"She wouldn't risk it," repeated the man. He had the same red hair and brown eyes as the other woman – Harry guessed he was her brother.

"I would," said the red haired woman in a husky voice.

"Don't be stupid, Allie," scoffed the man. "Why on earth-?"

"He was gorgeous," said Allie, giving her brother a sly look. "Nicola was with him at one point. I wouldn't be surprised it Katherine decided to hook up with him for a bit of fun. From what I've heard she likes to live dangerously. Besides – she was friends with Lupin, and him & Black were best friends, weren't they? She would have had seen him a lot."

At this last remark, Harry's eyes snapped up towards the red haired woman. _Friends with Lupin? Regulus Black wasn't friends with Lupin… _And that could only mean one thing: they were talking about Sirius.

"Who was that?"

"We're not entirely sure," answered George, gazing towards the door. Tonks moved forward and rapped on the rough wood.

"Remus? Are you ok?"

There was slight scuffle and a pause, then Remus' voice called back. "Fine, Tonks, I'm fine."

"Hurt my friend and I'll kill you," added a second voice cheerfully. Tonks raised her eyebrows.

"Who was that, Remus?"

"No one," said Remus firmly. "Everything is fine."

"That's the third time you've said that," muttered the second voice, just loud enough for both Remus & Tonks to hear.

"Shut up, _feles_."

"Remus are you sure you're-"

The sound of the lock clicking cut her off and the door opened far enough for Remus to stick his head out. His grayish hair was slightly ruffled but aside from that he didn't look hurt.

"Someone needs to tell the authorities that Harry has been kidnapped," he said gently. Tonks nodded, her eyes scanning his face anxiously.

"Do you know who by?"

Remus withdrew his head, apparently to look at the room's other occupant, but when he stuck his head out again, it had a disappointed expression. "No. Sorry. It was a woman, though."

"Not the one you've got in there?" probed Tonks gently.

"That's rude. You don't even know me," chided said woman.

"I would if you came out," replied Tonks sourly.

"Rem won't let me," answered the voice again, adding, "You probably wouldn't want to know anyway."

"Who is she, Remus?" asked Tonks, gazing at him with large dark eyes.

"Someone who can help," answered Remus sincerely. Tonks bit her lip, but then nodded.

"I'll go back to HQ and alert the Aurors. Be careful, Remus." She kissed him lightly on the cheek and disapparated. Remus shut the door quickly, mostly to avoid the curious glances from the living room's occupants and turned back to look at Katherine.

"You're not going to tell me who took him, then?" he asked, sighing tiredly. Katherine looked almost confused for a moment, then shook her head.

"Can't," she said shortly, leaning against the wall and looking down at her shoes with a preoccupied air. Remus frowned, studying her carefully.

"Are you ok?" he asked softly, casting Imperturbable Charm on the door. He didn't want anyone listening in on this conversation. Katherine glanced up at him, scuffing her shoes idly on the wooden floorboards.

"Aside from being locked in a room by a man who is supposed to be my best friend, you mean?"

"You would have been difficult," said Remus, smiling gently at her.

"I didn't have the chance," objected Katherine, trying not to grin at her friend's expression. She sighed, running a hand through her dark hair and glanced ruefully up at Remus. "Why did you tell them everything was fine?"

"Because it was – will be, at any rate," answered Remus, perching on the edge of the desk and gazing solemnly at her.

"If Tom gets to Harry he_ will _kill him."

"Then stop him."

"How am I supposed to do that?" asked Katherine exasperatedly, her eyebrows creased in a frown.

"You'll think of something," shrugged Remus. "You always do." Katherine smiled, tilting her head to one side and regarding him thoughtfully.

"That's a hell of a feat to ask of someone."

Remus raised an eyebrow smiling back at his friend. "Well then it's just as well I have a hell of a lot of faith in you, isn't it?"

Harry would have shouted at them that they were lying if he'd been able to – he wouldn't believe it – he couldn't believe it.

But somehow, he did. Sitting on a cold stone floor unable to do anything but think, he saw that the clues had been there all along, he'd just never put them together. That incident with the black haired man on the roof of Remus' block of flats. Katherine'd been talking about Remus and he'd asked whether Black wasn't too much of a good boy for her and she'd said something about him having style and abruptly changed the subject. Harry had always assumed she'd been talking about Regulus, a theory that had been endorsed by the fact she had a key to Grimmauld Place and it had been Regulus who told her about the horcruxes, but now he saw he was wrong. She'd obviously been good friends with Regulus, but it was his brother she'd been interested in.

Now that he thought about it, her expression when he'd confronted her with the picture of her & Regulus, and the way she'd been quick to point out they'd both been drunk were the biggest indicators of that. Anyone seeing that would see clearly that she'd never liked him in any more than a platonic way. Sirius on the other hand…

Harry thought back to the photograph he'd picked up which Katherine said was taken at the end of seventh year. She'd been between Remus & Sirius and even though she'd had her head on Remus' shoulder, it had been Sirius' lap she was sitting on and Sirius' arms that had been wrapped around her waist.

Head spinning, Harry tried to concentrate on what Bellatrix and her companions were talking about. He pushed all the questions he had to the back of his mind, trying very hard not to wonder why Sirius had never mentioned her and why on earth he'd gone out with her in the first place.

"…don't you just take him straight to him?" the red haired man was asking.

"Because I don't know where he is," explained Bellatrix, as though talking to a very small child.

"I thought you were supposed to be one of his most favoured?" pointed out the man. "You can't be that close to him if he doesn't even trust you enough to tell you where he is."

Harry could almost see the look on Bellatrix's face, even though she had her back to him. "I've got someone out asking around for him," she said through gritted teeth.

"Who?" asked the girl called Allie.

"Can't you guess?" said the man, in what Harry thought was a rather amused voice – the man seemed determined to wind Bella up. "Who's the one person that it would really gall Riddle to have as Bella's ally?"

The woman thought about this for a second and her answer, when she gave it, made Harry's blood boil and threw his thoughts into turmoil.

"Snape?"

Julian Lloyd pushed open the door to Brandon Manor and noticed with a smile that the lanterns were lit. So someone was here, at least. The smile left his face, however, when he saw who that person was.

"Morning, Ju. Rather brave of you to be here, isn't it? Or is it stupid?"

Julian sighed, closing the door and walking to the foot of the stairs Katherine was sitting on.

"Is the Master here?"

Katherine gazed meditatively at him, twirling the pen she was holding absently. "Upstairs. Why?"

"I have something to tell him," answered Julian, frowning at her. She was trying to use Legilimens on him and if he didn't find an excuse to get past her soon, she was going to succeed.

"What is it? I've already given him the status report from Diagon Alley. Fourteen dead, one DE injured. What else is there to tell?"

"Who got injured?" asked Julian, trying to use idle curiosity to bypass her questions. He didn't recall anyone getting hurt.

"Bella," answered Katherine calmly.

"No she-" began Julian but Katherine cut across, softly but with the force of a tidal wave.

"She will be."

"And I thought you were putting on a front when you said you weren't going to hurt Potter," said Julian, sneering slightly, more out of force of habit than a wish to make the woman in front of him any more angry than she already was. Katherine arched an eyebrow, doing superiority so much better than him.

"Potter? What's Potter got to do with anything? Bella tried to kill Remus – I'm going to use Jack Horner on her." She said it in a matter of fact voice, as though she was commenting on the weather and it made Julian's blood run cold; the look in her eyes alone would make a Hungarian Horntail flee for its life. "Do you know where she is?"

"No," said Julian, and Katherine grinned dangerously.

"Liar," she said softly, almost playfully, but there was a look of triumphant in those startlingly blue eyes that told Julian he hadn't been quick enough. The slight flicker in his eyes when he'd lied had been enough of a crack in concentration for Katherine to get through; Bella was going to kill him. On the bright side, she might very well not be able to if Katherine got to her first.

Katherine stood up, and folded the newspaper she'd been reading. Not the Daily Prophet, Julian noticed absently. Not a wizarding newspaper at all, in fact. The pictures weren't moving and Julian could see the headline was about something called global warming, whatever that was. Probably some new muggle idea thought up by some crackpot who wanted to put the scarf industry out of business. Bloody stupid idea in his opinion – if the world got warmer all the icecaps would melt, wouldn't they? And all the low lying areas would flood – although on the bright side, that would wipe out a considerable amount of muggles. Somehow he didn't think the idea would catch on.

Julian caught Katherine's eye as she stood up and pocketed her pen. He wondered why she was reading the paper – it was clearly full of rubbish. She grinned at him, shrinking the paper so it fitted easily into her back pocket.

"The crossword's better," she said pleasantly, and descended the stairs, walking right past him and out into the street.

Severus Snape sat on the white leather sofa in Nicola's living room, reading a book he'd found in the bookcase. Well, perhaps reading wasn't quite the right word; he'd been looking at the same paragraph for over half hour now and he still had no one idea what it was about. He tried again, concentrating this time.

_"…Shall I tell you why we have brought you here? To cure you! To make you sane! Will you understand, Winston, that no one leaves our hands uncured? We are not interested in those stupid crimes that you have committed. The Party is not interested in the overt act: the thought is all we care about. We do not merely destroy our enemies, we change them…"_

Severus sighed and put the book down, rubbing his face with his hand. It was no use, he just wasn't in the right mood to read. Besides, the speaker in the book was sounding far too much like Katherine for his liking and she was the very person he was trying not to think about.

He thought about that last sentence again, and decided the character was probably Katherine in another life. Katherine changed everyone – friends and enemies alike. She'd changed him certainly, though Severus wasn't quite sure which he was to her anymore. Not quite a friend, but not quite an enemy either.

The sound of the door opening brought him out of his reverie and a moment later Nicola entered the room, tossing her cloak over a chair and smiling at him.

"Hey – you all right? I was going to make chicken salad for lunch – want any?" Severus shook his head, his eyes falling once more to the discarded book. Nicola followed his gaze and frowned. "Good book?" she asked, coming to sit beside him.

"I thought it was yours," answered Severus, glancing up at her.

"Nope, not mine. I don't go in for George Orwell much," she said carelessly, leaning back into the soft leather and closing her eyes. "Must be Kat's. Doomed cynicism is more her area of expertise than mine."

"Our world isn't as bad as that," said Severus quietly, eyeing the book thoughtfully. "Not yet."

Nicola opened one large brown eye and gazed seriously at him. "Maybe that's why she likes it."

Severus nodded vaguely and steeled himself to ask the question he was dreading.

"Have you seen her?"

"Katherine? Not since breakfast, no. Been a busy morning – Death Eater attack on Diagon Alley. Rumour is Potter got snatched," answered Nicola, shifting in her seat, trying to get comfortable.

"She hasn't been caught?" asked Severus, a little too quickly to go unnoticed. Nicola opened both eyes and gave him a long look.

"No one's been caught. Is that why you're so edgy?" she asked, propping herself up and gazing at him. "You've really got it bad, haven't you?"

"I don't know what you mean," said Severus testily, picking up the book again, intending to resume the pretence of reading, but Nicola snatched it away, raising one fine eyebrow in reprehension. Severus tried to outstare her but knew he wasn't going to win. He sighed, dragging a hand through his black hair that still hadn't grown back properly. "The attack was at half ten and I haven't seen her since. I just thought she would've come home by now."

Nicola glanced at the clock; it was one o'clock in the afternoon.

"She's a big girl," she said carefully, setting the book down on the table. "She can look after herself. She's probably just gone for a walk or to see Lupin, or something. Nothing to worry about."

Severus half smiled at this, though it was tinged with bitterness.

"I don't think it's possible to honestly say that there is a single moment of the day when Katherine isn't doing something that we should worry about."

Nicola laughed, standing up and heading towards the kitchen.

"You're probably right," she called over her shoulder. "Knowing her she's probably sitting in a library somewhere, plotting the ultimate downfall of her father. The way she's been acting recently, I think she's mad enough to think it's possible."

Severus smiled absently, reaching for the book once more. Nicola was right – Katherine was probably perfectly safe – she'd turn up later, completely oblivious to the heartache she was causing and chastise him for not washing his hair. He flicked through the book, trying to find his page and his eye fell on a sentence, standing out on a single line in bold italics.

_**Thoughtcrime does not entail death: Thoughtcrime IS death.**_

He frowned and stared the line for a moment, thinking of Nicola's words. He knew she'd been joking but he couldn't help thinking she might have inadvertently hit upon the truth. And if Katherine was trying to bring down her father, she was in for a lot of trouble. The Dark Lord did not take kindly to would-be assassins – Regulus was proof enough of that. Katherine wouldn't be that stupid, would she? But then she had got engaged to Sirius and Gryffindors didn't call it stupidity, did they?

Severus shook his head, dismissing the idea as ridiculous and resuming the search for his place in the book. Besides, she had no chance of defeating the Dark Lord – only Potter could do that – the Prophecy had been very explicit on that account. Severus froze in the act of turning a page, the penny dropping at last with a resounding clunk.

The Prophecy.

Katherine knew the Prophecy.

Why hadn't he realised that before? The reason she'd never asked him about it when he'd let it slip was because she knew it already. Nicola had told him only a few days ago that Katherine had been a Unspeakable, and not just any Unspeakable, either – she'd been Head of the Hall Prophecy.

Mentally cursing himself for not making the connection sooner he tossed the book back down and went into the kitchen where Nicola was washing leaves for the salad. He was sure she'd said something earlier, but he'd been too concerned with Katherine's whereabouts to pay attention properly.

"Did you say Potter had been taken?" he asked, voice tense. Nicola glanced over at him, looking surprised.

"You didn't seem to care," she said, turning off the tap and dropping the wet leaves into a bowl.

"So he has?"

"Tonks seemed to think so," she shrugged. "She came in a while after the others and said his friends had seen him disappear. They're guessing someone grabbed him under a Disillusionment charm. Why do you ask? I thought you hated the kid."

"I do," said Severus gravely.

"But?"

Severus looked at the clock that hung above the sink. Two and half hours and Katherine still wasn't home. His eyes fell till they met Nicola's concerned gaze and he shrugged hopelessly.

"But Katherine's crazy."


	28. The switching hour

**Chapter 27 – The switching hour**

Harry looked up at the sound of the door opening. A man with glossy black hair stood there, calling something over his shoulder to some unseen companion.

"...check him for every kind of weapon, did you? And I don't think the Master would be best pleased if he were to get here and Potter knifes him."

The man turned and gazed at Harry with hawk-like amber eyes; it was the man from the rooftop. The door shut behind him with a firm clunk and he smiled, pulling a vial out of his pocket. Harry would have frowned if it had been at all possible, but as it wasn't, he had to content himself with trying to remember what the man's name was.

The door was pushed open again and Harry saw the man slip the vial back into his pocket and arch an eyebrow at the red haired woman who was peering around it at him.

"Yes?"

"Bella wants to know when the Master is getting here," supplied the woman, gazing coolly at him.

"As soon as we're sure it's him," said the man – Katherine had called him Julian, Harry remembered.

"What do you mean? Of course it's him," said the woman, looking distinctly ruffled at this slight.

"One hundred percent sure?" asked Julian, quirking a eyebrow. "So sure you'd bet your life on it, because that's what you'll be doing. The Dark Lord doesn't appreciate being tricked. Now if you'll excuse me, I have an interrogation to conduct."

The woman scowled at him but left, all but slamming the door behind her. Harry had the distinct feeling she was going straight to Bella to report Julian's words. Julian apparently felt exactly the same way because he pulled the vial out of his pocket again and crossed the room, kneeling on the floor in front of Harry.

A quickly muttered spell released Harry from the constraint of Bella's hex and a second later, the vial was tipped down his throat. Harry was about to spit it back out again and make a run for it, but Julian darted out a hand and held his nose. In his struggle to inhale, Harry swallowed the liquid and Julian smiled, letting go of him immediately and leaving him to squirm, choking on the floor.

When Harry had got his breath back he looked up at Julian, ready to do what he had to get his wand and run, but something about the man's expression made him hesitate. He was looking critically at Harry with sharp blue eyes, almost as though measuring him up for something.

"What?" asked Harry uneasily, moving himself into a sitting position. The potion Julian had forced down his throat tasted disgusting and he wasn't feeling all that great. To his surprise, Julian grinned wickedly in a way that seemed curiously familiar and ever so slightly out of place, then Harry remembered where he'd seen that smile before and said quietly: "Oh."

x – X – x

Remus glanced up at the sound of falling books and his eyes darted towards the closed door to the Weasleys' study. Cautiously he got up and, holding his wand ready, pushed open the door. A man with jet black hair and amber eyes stood leaning against the desk, looking bewildered and holding a black ebony wand loosely in one hand. He looked up and met Remus' gaze, still looking slightly lost. Remus raised the wand.

"Who are you?" he asked, trying to work out where he'd seen the man before. The man looked confused, then glanced down at himself.

"Ah," he said quietly and Remus' eyebrows shot up; he knew that voice.

"Harry?"

The man nodded ruefully. "Someone gave me Polyjuice. Uh, I think it was Katherine."

Remus half smiled. "Probably. Where is she?"

"Wherever I was," shrugged Harry, looking vaguely at the wand in his hand as though wondering what to do with it. Remus followed his gaze, the smile turning to a frown.

"That's her wand, isn't it?"

Harry shrugged again. "All I know is that she tipped Polyjuice down my throat, stuffed the wand in my hand and...I can't quite remember. Next thing I know, I'm standing here." He glanced up, amber eyes curious. "This is the Burrow, right?"

Remus nodded, though his expression was rapidly turning to worry. "Do you know where Katherine is now?"

Harry shook his head. "Last thing I remember is the Polyjuice taking effect." He frowned, thinking back to the funny look she'd been giving him, the inklings of an idea forming in his mind. "I think...I think she took my place." He looked up at Remus and the older man's countenance told him that he was thinking the exact same thing.

"Do you know who took you, Harry?" he asked, quickly but softly. "It's important."

Harry's face darkened and his next words made Remus' blood run cold. "Bellatrix Lestrange."

x – X – x

"Come in." Robert Avery didn't even bother to glance up as the door opened and a figure entered. "Yes?" he asked, frowning down at the paperwork in front of him. The figure didn't answer the cue and this time he did look up as the door was shut softly, cutting off the babble of noise from the cubicles outside. The frown deepened when he saw who it was, though out of curiosity more than displeasure.

"And to what do I owe this visit, Nic?"

Nicola Meliflua sighed, placing a folder on his desk and gazing down at him out of large brown eyes.

"Officially or unofficially?" she asked as Robert swiveled the folder round to read the title.

"Officially," said Robert, placing the folder in his in tray, "You are delivering a folder that was sent to the wrong department." He smiled wryly at her, something like amusement in his light eyes. "Perfectly innocent mistake."

"Perfectly," agreed Nicola, sitting herself down in the leather chair opposite him.

"Strange how it was mislaid between floors, though," remarked Robert, setting down his quill and leaning back in his chair. "Only meant to come down one level and instead it goes down five. I'm guessing the unofficial business is very important."

"A mutual friend seems to think another mutual friend has gone and done something very stupid," supplied Nicola. "And he's usually right," she added at Robert's confused expression. "And, let's be honest, she usually does."

"Ah," sighed Robert. "How stupid?"

"Very," answered Nicola, as a small note zipped under the door and quivered to a stop, hovering patiently above the desk. Robert grabbed the memo from mid air and opened it, scanning the few scribbled lines quickly.

"Important?" asked Nicola, seeing his expression. Robert looked over at her, chocolate brown eyes, usually so unmoved, showing a glimmer of worry.

"It's from Tonks."

Nicola frowned and it took her a moment to realise he meant Nymphadora Tonks – the Auror. She was about to ask what in heaven's name she could want, but then she remembered something else. Tonks wasn't just an Auror, she was Lupin's girlfriend, and if Remus was sending messages to Robert, then Katherine was in a lot of trouble.

"And?" she prompted, half not wanting to hear the answer.

"And I think we can upgrade 'very' to 'incredibly'."

x – X – x

Remus Lupin sat in a dark booth, head in his hands. If Katherine didn't get out of this, he would never forgive himself. He peered out from between his fingers as the door to the pub opened but it was just a harassed looking woman who strode up to the counter and ordered a pint of mead, so he resumed his solitary musings.

A moment later he looked up, light brown eyes searching the room quickly. He had the peculiar feeling that he was being watched and years of living with Katherine had taught him to trust his instincts. There weren't many people in the small tavern yet the feeling of eyes burning a hole in the back of his head persisted. Cautiously he turned his head, and brown eyes met yellow ones.

Remus barely had time to register his surprise when someone slid into the seat opposite him and he looked around to see the short blond hair and scowling features of Robert Avery. Remus glanced back but the man at the table behind him was already getting up, not even flinching under Avery's glare.

"Lunching with a wolf, Avery, tut tut, what would your wife say?" he muttered, smiling nastily down at the blond man.

"I'd shut that mouth if I were you," answered Avery, his words spoken just as softly but positively dripping with menace. "Unless you want Riddle to put another bullet in you."

Fenrir Greyback sneered, but left them all the same and headed out of the pub quickly, letting the door slam behind him. Avery watched him go, then turned back to Remus, eyes still hard. Remus raised a polite eyebrow.

"Another bullet?" he asked lightly.

"He was being rude," said Avery darkly. "And it wasn't silver. She used the wrong cartridge."

Remus frowned; he would have to have a word with his wayward friend when she got back; if she got back.

"So, are you going to tell me what she's done? It must be bad if you've sought my help," said Avery, casting a silencing charm around their booth under the table. Remus pulled a black wand out of his pocket and laid it on the rough wooden surface of the table.

"Harry was kidnapped by Bellatrix Lestrange, Katherine found out, decided to switch places with him and for some reason best known to herself gave him her wand as well," surmised Remus, smiling wanly and running a hand through his thin, grey flecked hair. Avery swore quietly, hand clenching into a fist and for a moment Remus thought he was going to thump the table, but he managed to stop himself in time.

"Why did you come to me?" asked Avery, glancing up at him, anger rapidly changing into something more useful - determination.

"Because you were the only one of Katherine's friends who I thought I could stand to work with – and the only one that would listen," answered Remus sincerely. "To be perfectly honest I had no idea whether she was still in contact with any of you, except perhaps Nicola – she gave me rather an odd look when I saw her at the Ministry – but I had to try. I thought you'd help, even if it was for old times sake."

"And if I hadn't?" asked Avery, half smiling in that lazy way of his.

"Then I would have swallowed my pride and sent a letter to Snape," said Remus quietly, in a constrained voice. "And have left him to it."

"Not keen on working with Severus, then?" asked Avery, leaning back meditatively in his seat.

"To be quite frank I think if I saw him again it would be all I could do not to kill him," said Remus, a small smile on his lips and an strange look in his eyes.

"Yes, Katherine's not too happy with him at the moment, either," said Avery quietly. Remus looked vaguely surprised.

"She's seen him again?"

"She didn't tell you?" asked Avery, frowning slightly.

"She asked me not to kill him," said Remus levelly. "But she didn't overtly mention that she'd spoken to him, no."

"Well she has," shrugged Avery carelessly. "Shouted in fact. Many times." He glanced up, meeting Remus' gaze with sharp brown eyes and Remus wondered for a moment how anyone could ever think this man was stupid. "He stills love her though."

Remus smiled bitterly and nodded. "That's what I was counting on."

"He's probably not the best person to send up against Bella, though," said Avery after a moment's reflection. "They aren't exactly the best of pals – she doesn't trust him."

"Even after he killed Dumbledore?" asked Remus, scowling.

"Oh no – she trusted him after he killed him," said Avery quickly, waving a hand dismissively. "It's just since Katherine came back. Now she won't go near him – probably thinks Katherine's going to ask him to kill her as a favour or something."

"She wouldn't do that," said Remus, and Avery grinned.

"Course not – she'll hex anyone who even plans an attempt on Bella's life. She's not going to let anyone else have that pleasure. Still, Bella never was the sharpest tool in the box and it's not as though Severus is greatly mourning the loss of friendship." Avery smiled languidly and leant forward, placing his arms on the grimy table. "When's full moon?"

"Next Friday," answered Remus instantly, despite being thrown by the sudden change of topic. "Why?"

Avery was quiet for a while, considering this, then said slowly: "She could survive five days, couldn't she? If Potter stayed hidden and the Dark Lord didn't visit."

Remus raised his eyebrows. "Excuse me?"

Avery looked up, brown eyes deep in thought. "I think we could make the Dark Lord sufficiently paranoid so that he won't go near Potter until Bella provides some irrefutable evidence that it's really him."

"Who exactly is 'we'?" asked Remus, folding his arms; he didn't like the sound of his companion's musings. Avery smiled as though this should be obvious.

"His followers," he said softly. "And as we've already agreed, Severus would do anything for Katherine."

"Without asking questions?"

"I can deal with questions," said Avery dismissively. "I'll tell him Katherine wants to annoy Bella – no, I'll tell him it's you."

"Me?" asked Remus, staring incredulously at him. He was starting to reconsider his earlier view of Avery – maybe he was stupid, or perhaps he was mad. Either way, he wasn't making any sense.

"You – I'll say Katherine's found out you were posing as Potter and-"

"Won't work," said Remus shortly. "I was there – Bella tried to hex me when she took Harry and Katherine knocked me over."

"Fine – I'll just tell him Katherine wants him to do it," sighed Avery, looking slightly put out.

"And when he asks why she's not the one asking?"

"I'll tell him if he doesn't she'll die," he shrugged. "He doesn't need any more motivation than that. Well, maybe he'd do it just to wind Bella up, but I think it's only Katherine who's that childish." He grinned again, brown eyes bright with ideas. "Exactly how effective is the Wolfsbane potion?"

"In what way?" asked Remus, struggling a little to keep up with Avery's fast pace.

"I mean how much control do you have over your actions," explained Avery patiently. Remus raised his eyebrows, wondering where this was leading.

"Complete control, so long as I'm left alone," he said carefully.

"And if you're not?" prompted Avery anxiously.

"Well, it's pretty much the same as being human – if someone winds you up, you're likely to retaliate," shrugged Remus. "Only with the wolf so close to the surface, you can't keep your anger in check quite as much. Other than that you're probably ok so long as the wolf doesn't wake up."

"What wakes it up?" probed Avery, looking thoughtful. "Just anger?"

"Yes, and blood."

"Blood?"

Remus nodded wearily. "The smell of blood is very...potent. It's not something that can easily be ignored when you've got a heightened sense of smell. Why all the questions?"

Avery grinned in a way that reminded Remus heavily of his friend and leant forward conspiratorially.

"Exactly how far are you willing to go to save Katherine?" he asked, brown eyes gleaming.

"She's saved my life at least three times now," replied Remus quietly. "I think it's time to repay the favour."

Avery's grin widened. "Good answer."

x – X – x

Harry sat on his makeshift bed in Ron's room, staring blankly at a poster of Chudley Canon's newest chaser, Quentin Miller, slam a Quaffle through a hoop. Hermione was downstairs going through the newest books they'd got now that she was sure Harry was safe and Ron was sprawled across his bed, pretending to read Martin Miggs comics and sneaking worried glances over at his friend every couple of minutes. Harry hadn't said much since his abrupt arrival other than to assure everyone that he wasn't hurt, and it was starting to worry him.

Harry was fully aware of this, but right at this moment, he had more pressing matters on his mind. Remus had persuaded Mrs Weasley that Harry was fine and begged her not to tell the Aurors – he would explain when he got back, he promised. And then he'd disappeared and Harry hadn't seen him since, not that it mattered – he knew exactly why Remus didn't want the Aurors to know he was safe. If they did, Scrimgeour, or whoever was in charge of the Aurors would refuse to keep searching for him and when word reached Bellatrix Lestrange that the Harry Potter sitting in her dungeon wasn't the real one, Katherine was in for a lot of trouble.

Harry himself was fine with this arrangement – he was all for getting Katherine back in one piece; how else would he get her to answer all his questions about Sirius? Remus wouldn't answer them, or even if he did, he would be bound to leave things out – besides, since it had been Katherine who had been with Sirius, it was Katherine who would be best able to tell him what the hell was going on.

He hadn't told Remus he knew about the relationship – partly because he still wasn't entirely convinced that he believed in it, and partly because there hadn't been time. Remus had rushed off as soon as he'd extracted a promise from Mrs Weasley that she'd keep quiet until he could explain properly – he hadn't even asked why Harry had thought it was Katherine, or why on earth he was referring to her by her first name.

He lay back on the bed, prompting another anxious glance from Ron, and dug Regulus' locket out of his pocket. He didn't know why he was still carrying it around – they'd already destroyed the real one after all. He opened it, gazing at Regulus' note, still tucked securely inside the gold rim; he pulled it out – it wouldn't do for it to fall into enemy hands as it could so easily have done only hours earlier.

He dropped the locket on the covers next to him and unfolded the note, more out of the need to do something than wanting to read the note again – he knew it off by heart anyway. _To the Dark Lord..._

Harry sat up, staring at the parchment in shock, because instead of the elegantly scripted note of contempt, the surface of the letter was completely blank. He turned it over, wondering if he was imaging things, but the other side was blank too.

"Something wrong?" asked Ron, laying down his comic and peering over at him.

"It's-" began Harry, but stopped abruptly, staring at the parchment. A thin line of black ink was spreading slowly across the top of the paper and for a moment Harry thought of Riddle's diary and had half a mind to burn it straight away, but something stopped him. The ink wasn't forming letters, it was forming...a picture. The ink was seeping across the paper, the black line filling out and twisting itself into new shapes. Two lines, intertwining, blossomed into an intricate sketch of a rose – two roses, and snaked off again, mirroring the lines on the opposite side of the paper – lines which Harry now realised were meant to be the stems. Just under the roses, an unseen hand now scrawled three words in elaborate calligraphy: _morituri nolumus mori._

"What's that?" asked Ron, sliding off the bed and craning over Harry's shoulder to frown at the parchment as the last few words appeared, clearly written by a different, though just as elegant, hand:

_Better than mirrors._


	29. Boldly going nowhere

**Chapter 28 – Boldly going nowhere**

_**Friday 27**__**th**__** September**_

"Potter you can't keep your eyes closed forever," said Bella, gripping her wand tightly in her hand. Harry had been most uncooperative these past five days despite her best efforts to make him talk. Even the best of Riddle's hexes had only made him scream – she'd be having words with that girl – smug ones. It seemed there were some people that even the infamous Katherine Riddle couldn't crack – not that she'd tried. On Tuesday she'd asked Julian to see if he could track her down and he'd come back a couple of hours later saying she was busy with work.

Bella stared musingly down Harry who was sitting huddled in a corner, eyes staying resolutely shut. It seemed he'd found a way round being a failed Occlumens; Bella might have been impressed if she hadn't needed to get into his mind so urgently.

The handle of the door turned and a black haired man with amber eyes poked his head around the door.

"What?" snapped Bella irritably. Julian arched an eyebrow at her, face as impassive as his cousin's.

"He's coming."

Behind her, she heard Harry move slightly and glanced around to see him shut his eyes hurriedly. Bella laughed, crouching down to his level.

"Scared, Potter? You should be."

Julian frowned and observed quietly: "He's not tied up."

"No," agreed Bella. "But it's not as though he can move, either."

Julian cast an eye over the pitiful form cowering in the corner and almost felt sorry for him. He didn't even want to know what Bella and the McKenzies had done to him this past week. If truth be told, he was surprised the kid was still alive.

Then, just as Bella stood up, turning to face him, the boy opened his eyes and looked straight at Julian with piercing green eyes. Julian almost blanched – there was something inhuman about that stare; it wasn't accusatory or pleading, it was just...blank. A look that tore straight through your defenses and saw inside your soul.

"...is it?"

Julian visibly jumped and looked hastily over at Bella. "What?"

"I said what is it?" said Bella slowly, glancing back at Harry, who had shut his eyes again. "You look as though you'd seen a ghost."

"It's nothing," said Julian, with all the indifference he could manage, his mind racing. _No Gryffindor had eyes like that, the only person who'd ever given him a look like that was..._ "I have to get back to work," he said, trying not to sound anxious to get away. Bella raised her eyebrows.

"Bit late to be working, isn't it?"

"Avery usually does nights, but he took the day off," shrugged Julian. "Think he was taking his daughter to the zoo or something."

"How sweet," muttered Bella, rolling her eyes. "When will his Lordship arrive?"

"About half an hour," said Julian, eyes sliding over to Harry again, but the boy remained stationary, the only sign of life the gentle movement of his chest as he breathed. He really needed to get a grip on himself – he had nothing to feel guilty about. It wasn't as though he'd sworn to her not to hurt Potter or anything, though he hadn't, he realised. He hadn't been near him all week, but that was just coincidence...wasn't it? He shook his head, bade farewell to Bella and debating whether he should warn her about Katherine's threat and wondering for the umpteenth time that week why on earth she hadn't carried though with it yet.

Left alone with Harry in the small stone room, Bella smiled to herself. Riddle didn't control everyone, after all. It was only when she heard Harry stir behind her that Bella realised she'd spoken aloud. She whipped round and met emerald green eyes gazing up at her. Grinning, she cast the Legilimens skill in the hope of catching him off guard and...hit a wall. Literally.

The resulting thump brought Alex McKenzie running, wand in hand, wild red hair flying behind her.

"What happened?" she asked breathlessly, staring from Harry's miserable form to Bella, lying prostrate on the ground.

"Snape said you couldn't do Occlumency to save your life," said Bella softly, staring at Harry. Alex frowned, then cast a confused glance over her shoulder.

"Is Julian here?"

"Just left," muttered Bella, picking herself up and rubbing her arm where she'd smacked into the wall. She'd get Snape for that later – the boy was obviously an advanced level Occlumens – how else would he have the power to throw a fully grown woman across a room when she'd barely even scraped the surface of his mind.

"But Jamie's out tonight," said Alex, and Bella caught the unease in her voice.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, tearing her gaze away from Harry and frowning at her companion.

"I just thought I heard-" began Alex but a low growl cut across her words and she stood, frozen to the spot, not daring to finish the sentence. Bella's eyes widened and she hissed: "Shut the door!" but Alex couldn't, or wouldn't, move.

Then, above the snarling in the corridor, Bella heard something else. _Thud, clunk, thud, clunk, thud, clunk... _There was someone with the wolf – someone with...a wooden leg? The footsteps stopped and the snarling dwindle, replaced by the hushed noise of something sniffing the air and then...silence. A minute ticked by, seconds dragging into hours and still nothing happened.

Bella crept over to the door and was about to push it shut, when curiosity got the better of her. She peered round it and met the electric blue eye and disfigured face of Alastor Moody, and crouching in front of him, posed ready to pounce, a grey brown wolf, lips drawn back in a silent snarl.

Hurriedly, she slammed the door shut, but met with thirteen stone of flesh and sinew coming the other way. The door held for a fraction of a second, then rocketed backwards, sending Bella flying for the second time in as many minutes and the wolf tumbled into the room, a fully fledged growl reverberating in the back of its throat.

Alex stood flat against the wall, trembling from head to foot as the wolf wheeled around, backing the two women into a corner. Behind it, the door, which had swung closed again after hitting the wall, opened and Mad Eye Moody walked in calmly, disarming them both easily.

"Wouldn't do you much good against a werewolf anyway," he said gruffly, turning to Harry and helping him to his feet. Bella glared furiously at him, too angry to speak. How dare he just walk in and...and...and just saunter off with her ticket back into the Dark Lord's inner circle?

Moody put an arm under Potter's, supporting him and whistled to the wolf which was still snarling softly. Unwillingly, the wolf retreated with him, padding lightly out of the room and disappearing into the corridor. As soon as it had left, Bella darted across the room, trying to reach the door before it shut, but didn't make it. The sound of a lock clicking echoed in the small room and Moody's voice, muffled by six inches of solid steel, floated back to her.

"Send my regards to your master."

Bella screamed with fury as the flap in the door that she herself had modified to allow food to be pushed through, swung open and two halves of wands were pushed through. Alex, still leaning against the wall, stared down at them in shock.

"He broke my wand..."

Bella barely heard her, glaring down at the polished wooden stick that was what remained of her own wand. Someone was going to pay for this and she had the nasty feeling it was going to be her.

In the back of a dark car with blacked out windows and white leather seats, a wolf, a boy and a man sat in exhausted silence as, outside, trees and country lanes flashed past. The car was doing well over 50mph but the driver didn't seem to care – the quicker they were away from that place, the better, and no was quite sure what happened if you tried to portkey a transformed werewolf.

"Dawlish will have my job for this if he ever finds out," the driver muttered at last, casting a quick glance in her rear view mirror to check they weren't being followed; they weren't. Still, as Remus had pointed out, no one was expecting them to use muggle transport. From the back, the wolf whined and she smiled. "That's not the point."

An unpleasant squelching noise told her that 'Mad Eye' had removed his fake eye. "Are you sure no one noticed it wasn't moving?" she asked, risking a glance over her shoulder.

A vague look of surprise greeted her question. "She didn't. It's called the weapon effect," remarked Moody in a distinctly un-Moodyish voice. "Everyone's so busy concentrating on the weapon, in this case our dear furry friend here–" the wolf gave a low growl "– that they barely even register anything else."

"Right," she said slowly, then, searching for a topic which she knew she couldn't be tripped up on, asked: "Remus, are you sure your friend won't mind us borrowing his car?"

"He's a she," said a female voice quietly. "And no she doesn't. She's just thanking high heaven she's alive at present."

Tonks almost crashed the car in her shock and had to fight to keep control of the wheel. She slammed on the brakes, turning into the skid as she'd always been told to and at last bringing the car to a halt at the side of the road. She sat still for a moment, then twisted round and stared at the place where Harry had been sitting.

_"You?"_ she asked incredulously. The black haired woman cast a sideways glance at Moody for help.

"We told her it was a Manes," he explained simply. Katherine cocked her head to one side and looked back at Tonks.

"You believed something he said?" she asked, jerking her thumb at Moody.

"I believed Remus," said Tonks hotly, glaring at the wolf who was doing its best to look innocent. Katherine smiled crookedly, reaching out a hand to scratch behind his ear.

"Never trust a Slytherin, never believe a Marauder," she said cheerfully. "Isn't that right, Moony?"

The wolf made a noise of agreement, sticking its head in her lap. Something like jealously flashed across Tonks face; it was gone in an instant, but Katherine caught it and smiled gently. She stopped scratching Moony's ear and flicked him on the nose instead. Moony flinched back, staring up at her out of large brown eyes that only served to amplify his hurt expression.

"Don't lie to your girlfriend," Katherine admonished. "It only leads to trouble."

Moony tilted his head slightly and gazed up at her with an expression that seemed out of place to Tonks after Katherine's words. It was almost...curiosity?

Beside her, Moody peered out of the window, and Tonks noticed wisps of blond hair where grey had been a moment before; the Polyjuice was obviously wearing off.

"We really had better be going. My wife's going to wonder where I am," he said softly.

Tonks jumped, then nodded hurriedly, turning back round to the wheel and starting the ignition. Ten minutes later, they dropped a now fully restored Robert Avery off near St James' park and Tonks looked over at Katherine and saw to her surprise that she was asleep. Moony wasn't however, so she posed her question to him.

"Where to now?"

x – X – x

Remus awoke the next morning, in human form once more, to find a thick woolen blanket laid across him. He twisted round to look at the sofa that Katherine had fallen asleep on almost as soon as they'd arrived and frowned when he saw she wasn't there. He sat up, wincing as his sore muscles protested and pulled the blanket around him, wondering if Tonks had remembered to leave him some clothes.

The noise of a door closing somewhere in the house made him look up and a moment later Katherine appeared in the doorway, holding two steaming mugs of tea. She smiled as he wrapped the blanket round himself and sat on the sofa, accepting one mug.

"Did you, um-?" he asked awkwardly, gesturing to the blanket and she grinned.

"You haven't got anything I haven't seen before, Rem," she said calmly, mischief glinting in her eyes. Remus pulled a face and she laughed. "Oh don't worry – you were still a wolf when I put it on you." At his questioning glance she shrugged. "I woke up about 5am; needed a drink. How are you feeling anyway?"

"About the same as usual," answered Remus, embarrassment assuaged for the present. He sipped the tea and studied her face with clear brown eyes. "How about you?"

"Fine," smiled Katherine. "Throat's a bit sore, but a good night's sleep can cure everything."

"Your throat's sore?" asked Remus, staring at her in bewilderment.

"From screaming," filled in Katherine, looking surprisingly cheerful about this.

"With pain?"

"No, just screaming. I figured Bella would get suspicious otherwise," answered Katherine, wrapping her hands around the mug and shifting her position on the sofa to get more comfortable. Remus waited for her to continue, but she just smiled vaguely at him and gazed thoughtfully into her cup of tea.

"You're not going to explain, are you?" he said eventually, sighing heavily; Katherine just grinned at him. "Well I'm glad you're ok, at any rate," he added, pulling the blanket up around his shoulders.

"So am I," said Katherine softly, gazing at him, vivid blue eyes serious for once. "Thank you."

"What are friends for?" shrugged Remus, smiling slightly.

"Yeah, well, I owe you one," she said quietly, tucking a stray stand of hair behind her ear absently. Remus just shook his head – the amount of times she'd saved his life, and she thought she was the one that owed him. "Tonks is nice," she said quietly, disturbing Remus' reverie.

"What?"

"Tonks - your girlfriend, remember?"

"Of course I remember," said Remus, frowning. "You like her?"

Katherine shrugged noncommittally. "She seems to really like you. I'm willing to give her a chance." She half smiled, a playful light glinting in her bright eyes. "Still stand by what I said though."

"That I look old enough to be her grandfather?"

Katherine laughed, almost spilling her tea. "No – but you do; we really need to get you some new robes – and no, I'm not taking no for an answer," she added, as Remus started to protest. Remus made a dubious noise but let it go for the moment.

"But?"

Katherine grinned. "But if she hurts you, I will kill her."

Remus was about to admonish her, but a knock on the door stopped him in his tracks and his half smile turned to a frown. Who on earth was that? Tonks had dropped them off at an old Order hideout that no one really used much anymore since the place it had been set up to watch had burned down over six months ago.

Katherine caught his expression and set her half empty cup of tea on the floor and crossed the room to the window, peering out through grimy net curtains.

"Who is it?" asked Remus quietly and Katherine shrugged.

"No one there." She turned back to him as a knock sounded again. "Unless they're invisible," she added, picking up a pile of clothes from a chair and tossing them at him. "They're invisible, aren't they?"

Remus shrugged, pulling on a shirt. "Probab- Oh no."

"What?" asked Katherine, looking worried. "Why _'oh no'_?"

Remus didn't answer her as she peered out of the window again, squinting over at the door to the small bungalow. He stood up, fully dressed now, and went into the hall to answer the door, Katherine following but careful to hang back in the shadows.

"Good morning, Harry," said Remus softly when he'd opened the door. "And to what do we owe this pleasure?"

A moment later, a mess of black hair and a bespectacled face appeared out of thin air as Harry stepped inside, pulling off the invisibility cloak.

"We? So Katherine is here, then?"

Remus grimaced, noticing his mistake too late and Katherine stepped out of the shadows, frowning at Harry but remained silent. Remus looked from one to the other, trying to work out what he was missing. He frowned suddenly running Harry's words over in his head. _Since when had he started calling her by her first name?_

"Is it true?" demanded Harry, green eyes blazing and Remus thought, not for the first time, how like Lily he looked at times like these.

"Is what true?" asked Katherine, with an ease that told Remus that this was not the first conversation she'd had with Harry. Something was definitely going on here...

Harry held up a photograph and Remus recognised it as the one Harry had taken from his flat the first time he'd met Katherine – the one of the Marauders, Lily & Katherine that Peter had taken during their final trip on the Hogwarts Express. The one which showed Sirius with Katherine. Oh. He'd realised.

Katherine sighed heavily, leaning against the wall and gazing wistfully at the photograph.

"Perhaps not the place, but the time?" she asked softly, raising her eyes to meet Harry's fierce gaze.

"You were with him?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because I fancied him," shrugged Katherine. "And because he didn't care."

Harry frowned at this. "He didn't care?"

"That I was a Slytherin," clarified Katherine. "I think his precise words were _'I couldn't give a rat's a-'_"

"Yes we get the idea, Kat," interrupted Remus hurriedly. Katherine arched an eyebrow at him.

"Well he did ask."

"So what happened?" asked Harry, determinedly to get as many answers as possible before Remus stepped in.

"Azkaban happened," said Katherine soberly. "I got arrested, he got arrested, I died, he escaped, I escaped but thought he was dead, then he died." She smiled sourly. "Ironic, really. I tried to visit Grimmauld Place a couple of weeks after I got out but couldn't get into it. He was a wall's width away and I never even knew."

"Would you have got back with him if you'd met?" asked Harry, his anger subsiding a very little. Katherine looked almost surprised.

"Potter, we never broke up."

"Yeah, but you'd been apart for so long," said Harry and Katherine smiled wanly.

"Yeah, in the same prison. It wasn't as though we could hook up with anyone else, was it? He didn't fall for anyone else, did he, Rem? Remus?"

Remus glanced up at her, seeming not to have heard her question. "That can't be right, Kat."

Katherine frowned slightly. "What can't? He could have fallen-"

"Sirius died over a year ago," said Remus quietly, looking oddly at her. "And you only broke out last month."


	30. Insano quod sano

**Chapter 29 – Insano quod sano**

There was silence in the small hallway as Katherine looked blankly at Remus. Remus arched an eyebrow at her; he knew she'd heard him, so he wasn't going to repeat himself, but she wasn't being very forthcoming with an explanation – or a denial for that matter. He had the distinct feeling that she'd just slipped up. Again. Exactly how much was she hiding from him?

"Well?" he prompted at last.

"Well what?" asked Katherine pleasantly, keeping her expression carefully neutral.

"Katherine when exactly did you get out of Azkaban?" asked Remus with a sigh, not really expecting her to tell him.

"On the day of rebirth," she answered flippantly, an overly cheerful expression on her face that told Remus not to push the subject, and turned away from him to look at Harry. "How did you find out about me and Sirius?"

"Bellatrix Lestrange."

"Trix? But she didn't know that-" Katherine stopped, a thought occurring to her. "Uh, exactly _how much_ did she tell you about me and Sirius?"

"How much is there to know?" asked Harry, staring incredulously at her. "She said you were together and the other woman said you were probably only with him because you liked to live dangerously."

"Other woman?" asked Katherine. "Red head? How the hell did _she_ know about him?"

"Bellatrix told her," answered Harry. "Who is she?"

"Alexandra McKenzie," said Remus quietly, half smiling at Katherine. "You two used to be quite close in first year, I seem to remember."

"Yes, well, that was before she decided she wanted to kill me," said Katherine carelessly. At Remus' questioning look she shrugged and elaborated: "I brought Jamie to a DE meeting in a crumpled heap after he'd gone snooping after Faye. That's what the folders I gave you were for – so if anyone goes looking again, she can use them to prove she's me."

"And if they demand more substantial proof?" asked Remus gravely.

"Then she can tell them to stop wasting her time or she'll start screaming for help. She's got everyone else convinced she really is Faye, so no one would believe the ravings of Trix or the McKenzies."

"And when they find out everyone else knows she really is Faye?"

Katherine grinned, blue eyes glinting. "Then I'll tell them I'm _very_ good."

"Does everyone who was there want you dead, then?" asked Harry quietly. If they did, then she'd taken a hell of a risk in switching places with him.

"Pretty much. I only saw four people – Lestrange, the McKenzies and Lloyd. I don't think he wants me dead, but you never can tell with Ju." She smiled, though Harry could see the weariness behind it. What kind of life was that? Always having to watch your back in case the person behind you was carrying a knife; no wonder she was so strange. At least he didn't have to constantly mix with the people who wanted him dead.

"Bellatrix mentioned someone called Iscariot," offered Harry, then frowned as both Katherine and Remus gave him very odd looks. "What?"

"Iscariot? You sure?" asked Katherine carefully.

"Yeah, she definitely called someone Iscariot," said Harry, wondering why they were still looking at him as though he'd suggested they sing Happy Birthday to Voldemort. "I didn't see who it was, though."

"Well they're not a DE," said Katherine. "I think Tom would refuse to enlist anyone named Iscariot on principle."

"Why? What's wrong with it?" asked Harry, growing more confused by the second.

"Iscariot," said Remus gently. "As in Judas Iscariot, possibly the most infamous traitor of all time."

"Oh," said Harry quietly, looking over at Katherine whose eyebrows were knitted together in a frown. She glanced up, a sour expression on her face.

"She got to Ju."

"Ju?" asked Remus curiously.

"Julian – he was the guy on the roof of your flats. Never did quite trust him exactly, but... Well, I guess I'll just have to be a little more careful around him, that's all." Her hand went to her throat and for a moment she looked confused, then sighed. "Ah, I forgot I took it off."

"Took what off?" asked Harry, frowning at her.

"My necklace; it has..." She trailed off, pulling a face. "Ok, look, I'm going to tell you, otherwise you're only going to find out from someone else, but if you go mental, I'm going home, all right?"

"All right."

"Sirius and I weren't just going out," she said delicately. "We were engaged."

x – X – x

Severus looked at his watch for what felt like the hundredth time and ran an almost frantic hand through his hair. This was the fourth place he'd tried and no one had seen her for weeks. The sound of a door slamming in the hall made him start and he hauled open the study door and looked out.

Bellatrix Lestrange stood in the dim light, tossing her cloak onto a peg and muttering something angrily under her breath. Severus sighed, making Bella whirl round to face him.

"You? What are you doing here?" she asked shortly, glaring at him.

"What concern is it of yours?" asked Severus, having no intention whatsoever of telling Bella the real reason behind his visit. Bella scowled at him and made for a room on the other side of the hall, but stopped before she reached it, looking back at him.

"You're a real git, you know that, Snape?" she said softly, loathing underlining every word. "All that stuff about Potter being rubbish at Occlumency – you could have just said he was good at it. Honestly, you're getting almost as bad as _her_."

Severus kept his face carefully blank, processing Bella's words. Potter had shown no particular aptitude for Occlumency when he'd taught him, and as far as he knew, Dumbledore had discontinued the lessons after that last disastrous session, so that could mean only one thing – it wasn't Harry after all.

"I presume you're referring to Katherine," he said quietly, wondering how much information he could get Bella to tell him before she got suspicious.

"Of course I'm bloody referring to Katherine," snapped Bella. "_'Insano quod sano'_. She's a raving lunatic!"

"And you're not?"

The look Bella shot at him would have made a weaker man flinch. "Riddle will get hers," replied Bella softly. "I'll make sure of that."

Severus did frown this time, something about Bella's expression was making his blood run cold. "What can you possibly do to her that she hasn't already thought of? Hurting Lupin is suicide and trying to trip her up will only make her angry."

Bella smiled slowly, dark eyes shining with secret knowledge. "Riddle doesn't know everything."

"Perhaps not, but she's lost everything once before, and she's still standing."

"I'm not planning on taking everything," said Bella calmly. "Just what matters most. Good day, Severus."

Severus didn't answer as she disappeared into one the rooms and shut the door behind her. _What matters most._ What was that supposed to mean? Bella had barely spoken to Katherine since they'd escaped from Azkaban – how on earth did she know what mattered most to Katherine? She hadn't got a clue – not if she'd ruled out Lupin so carelessly. That man was Katherine's rock – it didn't matter what happened to her, as long as she still had him, she'd keep fighting.

Maybe that was part of the reason he'd spent all those years making sure that Lupin wasn't put in unnecessary danger – all those snide remarks that a werewolf wasn't suitable had been meant of course, and had been duly argued against by various Order members, Black and Potter especially, but no one, not even Saint Lupin, had seen them for what they really were – a way of salvaging that last memory of Katherine. Because even then, when she'd been issued with a death certificate and her cell had been bricked up, he still hadn't been able to let go of the idea that none of it quite fitted. People like Katherine didn't just get arrested and shipped off to Azkaban without kicking up a fuss, and they certainly didn't slip away quietly in a dark cell in the middle of the North sea. People like Katherine went down in a blaze of glory or not at all. People like Katherine didn't leave without saying goodbye.

And then on a warm night in late August, he'd gone to her parent's old house and half an hour later, she'd walked in through the back door, looking pretty much the same as she ever had – same glossy black hair, same brilliant sapphire eyes, same fierce smile – and she'd run off, only this time he'd run after her. He was not going to lose her again.

He sighed, looking at his watch again and, after a moments consideration, disapparated. He was going home – it was as good a place as any to wait for her.

x – X – x

Harry was silent, mostly from sheer shock, but partly because he knew if he opened his mouth right at that moment, he'd go mental and he was certain Katherine would carry out her promise and vanish the second he did. He didn't want that – he wanted to know what the _hell_ had possessed his godfather to propose to Voldemort's daughter.

"Uh, Kat, I think you could have been a little more tactful about that," said Remus gently, eyeing Harry worriedly.

"How?" asked Katherine bluntly, arching an eyebrow. "It's the truth and I don't want anyone else giving him their distorted version of it. There's only one person living who knows the full story and that's me. A couple of people know the facts, but I don't think even you fully understood it, so they don't have a hope." She looked over at Harry who was still trying to decide how best to phrase the sentiment: _'What was he on?'_ without making Katherine leave.

"You could have explained first, though," said Remus, heaving a sigh.

"Maybe that's not the problem," said Katherine, gazing at him from under dark black lashes. "Maybe he's just not used to hearing the truth."

Remus narrowed his eyes but was prevented from commenting further by Harry, who had at last managed a strangled: "Why?"

Katherine looked almost surprised. "Why were we engaged? Because we were in love."

She said it so simply that it took Harry a moment to register it and even when he had, he wasn't entirely sure he believed it.

"But you were a Slytherin."

"He was raised among Slytherins," shrugged Katherine. "It didn't bother him, so I didn't let it bother me." She smiled softly. "And if I'm being completely honest, we didn't actually think it'd last."

"What?" Harry was staring at her now, very nearly lost for words. First she said she was in love with Sirius, now she was saying she hadn't intended to go out with him?

"We...well, we got together at the end of seventh year, after the exams and..." She shrugged. "It was just meant to a bit of fun – a crazy fling to show we didn't care what anyone else thought and it just...didn't end. Somewhere along the line it stopped being a joke and became something...quite different." She looked Harry straight in the eyes and said firmly: "I did love him. If you believe nothing else, believe that."

"Then why did he never mention you?" asked Harry quietly.

"Because he thought she was dead," answered Remus, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "And if nothing he could do would bring her back, he saw very little point in bringing up the subject. I think he was afraid you'd think less of him for falling for a Death Eater and that was the last thing he wanted – especially after he'd just found you again. You meant the world to him, Harry."

There was quiet for a while, then Katherine sighed. "Look, I know it seems about as likely as Malfoy being awarded the Noble Peace prize, but it just kind of worked. I guess you really had to be there to understand. "

"Show me then," challenged Harry, gazing at her with fierce green eyes. "If you had to be there, then show me. I've seen how pensieves work."

"Harry it's not quite as easy as that," said Remus gently. "You have to have-"

"Have we got any wooden bowls?" interrupted Katherine. "Or plastic – that'd probably work too."

Remus looked completely thrown by this, then said hesitantly. "Uh, there might be some in the kitchen. You'd have to check the cupboards. Wh-?"

But Katherine had already gone, the door swinging behind her and a moment later Remus heard her rummaging through the cabinets. "And who's got my wand?" she called, voice slightly muffled through the door.

Remus sighed and entered the kitchen, pulling it out of his pocket. Harry followed, just in time to see Katherine straightening up, a blue Tupperware bowl in her hand.

"This'll do," she said brightly, taking her wand from Remus and pulling a knife out of a cutlery drawer. Harry eyed the knife warily, but she just sat down at the small table and began carving symbols into the plastic.

"Dare I ask what you're doing?" asked Remus, taking the chair opposite her and giving her a bemused look.

"Makeshift pensieve," replied Katherine, a look of intense concentration on her face. "Won't hold many memories, but it'll be fine for what we need it for."

"You're serious, aren't you?" asked Harry quietly. Katherine flashed him a wicked grin and set about her work again. He glanced at Remus, who was watching Katherine with an expression halfway between amusement and exasperation. What must it be like to have a friend like her, he wondered. Someone who could shut someone up just by looking at them, who could slip so easily underneath the radar of the Aurors when she was just a room away and who, just for a while, made the impossible seem possible.

And that was probably what had attracted Sirius, too. Katherine looked so calm and composed on the outside, but even though he'd only seen her a couple of times, he'd seen that mask slip a lot already; she couldn't help it, especially when she grinned like that. That was the smile of someone who knew the world was out to get her and was fighting back with everything she had. The smile, he realised, of someone who understood the wolf. No wonder she was Remus' best friend.

"Are you completely sure this is going to work?" asked Remus, resting his head on his hand.

"'Course I am," said Katherine, glancing up at him with bright sapphire eyes. "I'm making it, aren't I?"

x – X – x

Severus heard voices coming from the kitchen when he apparated into his bedroom and it took him a moment to realise it was Nicola and Robert. He tossed his cloak on the bed and went downstairs, listening outside the door for a minute to make sure there was no one else in there, and entered. Nicola looked over at the sound of the door opening, but the disappointment that appeared on her face told him Katherine hadn't come back yet.

"You haven't seen her have you?" she asked, not looking very hopeful.

"No," said Severus quietly, glancing at Robert. "She still not back?"

"Well she got out all right," said Robert, scratching his head. "I presumed they'd drop her off here but evidently not."

"Who's they?" asked Severus, narrowing his eyes. Robert hadn't mentioned any 'they' before.

"Lupin and a friend," said Robert evenly, sipping at the mug of tea he was holding.

"You got Lupin to help but you wouldn't tell me what was going on?" asked Severus angrily. "What the hell can he do that I can't?"

"Turn into a wolf once a month," answered Robert dryly, smiling very slightly, which only served to infuriate Severus further.

"He's got you there," pointed out Nicola, turning round to pour another cup of tea so that Severus wouldn't see her grin.

"What did you need a werewolf for?" asked Severus, not in the least bit pacified by this explanation.

"To get her out," said Robert simply. "It worked – that's all that's important, Severus. Katherine is fine, wherever she is. At a guess, I'd say she's probably staying with Lupin somewhere. She'll turn up later, she always does."

"And in the meantime we're just supposed to sit around going frantic?" asked Severus scathingly, although he already knew what Robert's answer was going to be.

"Yes, because that's what we do." He stopped smiling and look seriously at his old companion. "And honestly, would you really have it any other way?"

Severus shot him a dark look. "Yes, I would."

"Then perhaps you should tell her you're madly in love with her and then maybe she'd come home once in a while," said Nicola, handing him a steaming mug of tea. Severus stared at her, then at Robert, who didn't look in the least bit phased by Nicola's remark.

"I...what?" he managed at last.

"We kind of twigged back in sixth year when you cursed Rosier into next week when he suggested she was a mudblood," explained Robert calmly. "Then when you took her to the Halloween Ball."

"And slaved night and day to make that potion when she got sick," added Nicola.

"Then you broke Rosier's nose when we found out it was his fault, I seem to recall," nodded Robert, draining his tea. "Never mind very nearly murdering Black for asking her out."

"Oh, and the fact that you've become a bitter recluse ever since she died – that was a small hint, too," put in Nicola, dark eyes amused. "But it's ok."

"Ok?" asked Severus, sounding slightly lost. "How on earth is it ok?"

"Because she loves you too," answered Robert, making it sound so simple.

"If she had, she wouldn't have got engaged to Black," pointed out Severus sharply, fervently wishing he wasn't having this conversation. It was bad enough having it with himself, but not here, not with two of his oldest friends.

"You can love more than one person," said Nicola with a slight smile. "Take it from me."

"And she's taken her ring off," said Robert casually. "Don't know where she's put it, but it's not on her finger anymore. I'd say that's as good a sign as any that she's moved on."

"So don't be an idiot," said Nicola curtly. "Because there's a big difference between the way she feels about you and the way she felt about Black."

"And that would be?"

"She loved him, but she's in love with you," said Nicola gently, smiling softly.

"I don't see the difference."

Nicola shrugged. "You will."


	31. Bad influence

**A/N:** First off, I don't own the lyrics in the chapter - they come from the song _American Pie_ by _Don Mclean_. Secondly, I've written the scene in the pensieve from a flashback point of view, rather than as a proper pensieve scene. This is simply because it's important that you know what the characters were thinking and I can't get that any other way, so just assume Harry, Remus & Katherine are standing around somewhere watching it. ;) Enjoy!

**Chapter 30 – Bad influence**

Harry looked at the small plastic bowl that now lay innocently on the table, then up at Remus who was considering it critically. Over all, it had taken Katherine about half an hour to complete; it seemed it wasn't quite as simple as just carving a few symbols into the bowl – you also had to cast a number of complicated spells, most of which Katherine said she'd forgotten and had subsequently made up. As a result, Harry didn't blame Remus for being a little sceptical about the reliability of the makeshift pensieve.

"Don't you trust me?" Katherine was grinning, leaning back in her chair and twirling her ebony wand idly. Remus glanced up, brown eyes neutral.

"Trust you? With my life, yes. With this, not exactly, no."

Katherine pouted, blue eyes glinting with amusement. "And why, may I ask, is that?"

"Well I think the misgivings started around the time you said that you'd never actually tried it with plastic before and then multiplied rather rapidly when you decided to start inventing your own spells."

"Would it help if I made it look more like a pensieve?" asked Katherine, flicking her wand at the blue bowl, which shimmered for a moment, then transformed into an exact replica of the pensieve Harry had seen so often in Dumbledore's office.

"Does that make it any more reliable?" asked Remus, picking it up and weighing it in his hand.

"No."

"Right, so if this thing collapses on us-"

"It won't," said Katherine calmly. "But if it does, I'll get us out."

Remus smiled for the first time since she'd started making the pensieve.

"Now that I can believe." He sighed and set the bowl down on the table. "Are you sure you want to do this, Harry?"

Harry nodded and Katherine smiled happily. "Right then, choose a memory Rem. Preferably one where we're not arguing."

"Why me?" asked Remus, frowning.

"Well he's hardly going to believe anything I tell him, is he?" asked Katherine, raising her eyebrows. Remus sighed again, and pulled out his wand, thinking hard.

"You argued?" asked Harry as Remus tried to recall a suitable memory.

"Everyone argues," said Katherine seriously, gazing at him with clear blue eyes. Harry said nothing, wondering why, the more innocent Katherine looked, the less trustworthy he found her. Beside him, Remus put his wand to his head and drew out a long, silvery strand and, after only a moments hesitation, placed it in the pensieve. Katherine glanced up at him, the silver light from the memory reflecting on her face.

"Which one?" she asked softly. Remus just smiled and gestured for her to see for herself. She narrowed her eyes slightly, then shrugged and looked into the pensieve.

x – X – x

_A twenty year old Remus gazed shrewdly over at two of his best friends, wondering how long it would be before one of them started shouting. In the corner, the radio was playing some song he hadn't heard before and the lead singer's dulcet tones were at present concealing the conversation on the other side of the room. Remus sighed, draining the remainder of his drink and glancing at the clock on the mantelpiece. Sirius was due soon; he hoped Katherine and James wouldn't have killed each other before he arrived._

_Leaning back into the sofa, he closed his eyes and let the song drown out all other sounds. _

'…I met a girl who sang the blues

And asked her for some happy news

But she just smiled and turned away…'

_The sofa jolted and Remus opened his eyes to see Peter sitting next to him, a slightly worried look on his plump face. Remus followed his gaze and saw the look Katherine was giving James._

_"I hope you two aren't arguing," he said loudly, frowning at them. James turned to him, face the picture of innocence._

_"Of course not, Moony," he said cheerfully, walking over to him._

_"We were just having a mutual disagreement," added Katherine, smiling sweetly._

_"About?" asked Lily, appearing next to James and giving him an appraising look._

_"It's not important," said James, slipping an arm round her waist and kissing her gently on the forehead. "We'll sort it out later."_

_Remus could tell Lily was about to press the matter but at that moment the doorbell rang and after a moments indecision, she hurried off to answer it. Remus glanced at James, but he just shrugged and went to pour himself another drink. One look at Katherine told him not to even try and get answers from her, not that he really needed to. There was only ever one thing that James and Katherine argued about and he had just entered the room._

_"I swear that man gets more paranoid with every passing day," sighed Sirius, tossing his cloak over a chair and grinning at Katherine. "You've really got to stop tormenting him, Kitten."_

_"Me? What did I do?" asked Katherine, arching an eyebrow. "I've been at work all day – whoever's making him worried, it's not me."_

_"Kitten, you can probably make people nervous simply by not doing anything. It confuses them," said Sirius gently, wrapping his arms round her waist and grinning down at her. _

_"Would you rather I wound him up?" asked Katherine, smiling playfully. "At least then you'd have a legitimate reason to complain."_

_"I think he'd complain no matter what," said Remus lightly. "He just wants sympathy."_

_"I can't help it," objected Sirius, giving Remus a mock hurt look. "It's my terrible childhood – I was deprived of love. You love me, don't you, Kitten?"_

_Katherine grinned and twisted out of his embrace. "We'll see."_

_"Where are you going?" asked Sirius petulantly, looking slightly miffed at this rebuff._

_"To get a drink. Want one?"_

_"Firewhiskey?"_

_Katherine nodded and disappeared into the kitchen as Sirius dropped down onto the sofa between Peter and Remus._

_"So, apart from the paranoid colleague, did you have a good day?" asked Remus, shifting position to make himself more comfortable._

_"Yeah, managed to skive off early to get here, too," answered Sirius, loosening his tie and grinning. "How about you, Wormtail? How are things going in the Ludicrous Patents Office?"_

_But how exactly things were going, they never found out, because at that moment, the doorbell rang. James, who had just reentered the room with a stack of records, paused and glanced over his shoulder, frowning._

_"Are we expecting anyone else?" he asked, glancing over at Lily, who had risen from her seat._

_"Well I ran into Michael Green in town a couple of days ago and he mentioned he hadn't seen you in ages, so I said he should drop in sometime. I guess he must have decided to come today."_

_"Uh, when you say Michael Green, do you mean the Michael Green in our year?" asked Katherine, sticking her head around the door to the living room, a concerned expression on her face._

_"Yes – why? Is something wrong?"_

_"No," said Katherine slowly. "Not exactly wrong."_

_"But?"_

_"But, well, does he know about me and Sirius?"_

_"Of course he does – you two were the talk of the school," laughed Lily, frowning at her as the doorbell rang again._

_"Yeah, but that was two years ago," said Katherine uneasily. "Do you really think he's going to expect us to still be together?"_

_"Well no one's ever said you broke up," shrugged Lily, moving past her to go and open the door. "Why would he presume otherwise?"_

_"Hey don't worry," said Sirius lazily, getting up and throwing an arm around her shoulders. "It doesn't matter what he thinks, does it?"_

_"Not to me," said Katherine quietly. "To you it does."_

_Sirius frowned. "I told you before, I don't care what anyone else thinks."_

_"No, I don't care – you don't worry," said Katherine, glancing towards the hall where she could hear voices approaching. "It's not the same thing."_

_"I would be inclined to agree with her on that point," put in James, looking at Sirius with troubled eyes. "Maybe you should go."_

_Katherine nodded, but Sirius grabbed her arm before she could move. "Oh no, you're not going anywhere. Honestly, why is it that the first time you two agree on something, you're both being ridiculous?"_

_"Who's being ridiculous?" asked a bright voice, and a woman with clear blue eyes and long wavy blonde hair entered, followed by a brown haired man and behind him, Lily, looking slightly annoyed. The girl stopped short when she saw Katherine and her cheerful smile faltered for a second. "Oh, hello. I didn't know you were going to be here."_

_"I was invited," said Katherine quietly, her small smile doing little to conceal the malice in her eyes. "Were you?"_

_"She's with me," said the man, softly. Sirius cleared his throat and tore his gaze away from the woman, focusing instead on Michael. _

_"Do you want a drink? I'll go and see what we've got." He slipped out into the hallway, heading towards the kitchen and Remus exchanged a look with James, whose usually light brown eyes were dark with anger._

_"So, how have you all been?" asked Michael, either unaware of or choosing to ignore the frosty atmosphere in the room._

_"Surviving," said James quietly, flicking through the records in front of him._

_"How are you getting on?" asked Remus, trying to lighten the mood a little. After all, it wasn't Michael's fault – he hadn't known Sirius would be here. If he had, he certainly wouldn't have brought Rose, would he?_

_Michael started to tell them about his new job and Remus cast a glance over at Katherine, who was gazing at Rose with an expression that Remus had long ago learned to be worried about. She caught him looking and smiled slightly before walking out of the room to find Sirius. Michael finished talking and glanced over at the door Katherine had just walked out of._

_"Black's still with her, then?" he asked as Rose perched on the arm of his chair._

_"Why shouldn't he be?" asked James, and Remus could see him tense visibly. He almost smiled; James may not have agreed with, let alone understood, Sirius & Katherine's relationship, but woe betide anyone else who said so. What was that Voltaire said? _'I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it'

_"No reason," said Michael placidly. "I was just saying."_

_"He does know she's a Death Eater, right?" asked Rose, gazing at them all with wide blue eyes and Remus wondered how two pairs of blue eyes could look so different. On Rose they made her look like an angel, whereas one look at Katherine's and you'd swear she was the devil's advocate._

_"He doesn't see why that matters," said a low voice and Rose looked up guiltily to meet the sober gaze of Sirius._

_"I didn't mean-"_

_"I'd love Katherine if she was the daughter of Satan himself, and she very nearly is, so I'd thank you to mind your own business, Rose," said Sirius, a touch of anger in his voice. "You lost the right to have any say over my life a long time ago."_

_Rose raised her eyebrows and Michael frowned at him, leaning forward in his seat._

_"There's no need to take that tone of voice, Sirius. She was only asking."_

_Sirius threw him a dark look. "I would have thought she'd be happy. I'm returning to my roots, aren't I, Rose? You can take a Black out of Slytherin, but you can't take the Slytherin out of a Black, right?"_

_"I never said that," said Rose, looking horrified, blue eyes bordering on tears. "I would never say that."_

_Sirius snorted, gazing at her with dark brown eyes. "No? So that wasn't the reason you ditched me? There was another reason? And what would that be, pray? Do tell. I'm hanging on your every word."_

_"I said I was sorry," said Rose, blinking back tears in the face of such hostility. "I was just a stupid girl-"_

_"It was only two years ago, Rose," interrupted Sirius harshly._

_"No one ever said she stopped being stupid," said a soft voice and Sirius turned round to see Katherine standing in the doorway, a glass of white wine in her hand._

_"How long have you been there?" he asked, staring at her in surprise._

_"'You can take a Black out of Slytherin, but you can't take the Slytherin out of a Black'," quoted Katherine, an odd smile on her face. "Honestly, Sirius, you'd be no fun without the Slytherin. Everyone's got to have a mix of the Houses to be interesting."_

_"Are you trying to suggest you're not pure Slytherin?" asked Rose, scowling at her with an emotion that went way beyond loathing. Katherine smiled dangerously but it was Sirius who answered._

_"Don't be ridiculous, of course she's pure Slytherin." He grinned roguishly, running one elegant finger down Katherine's cheek. "What was it my dear old mother used to say? A true Slytherin is smarter than a Ravenclaw, more dedicated than a Hufflepuff and fiercer than a Gryffindor, while all the time being as deadly as poison. I'd always thought she was being a bit over dramatic till I met you," he added quietly and Katherine smirked._

_"I'm flattered."_

_"Flattered at being compared to poison?" asked Rose stiffly, arching an eyebrow. Katherine smiled cruelly at her._

_"You don't think it's true?"_

_"I think he can do better," replied Rose shortly, looking coolly at her._

_"I don't give a toss what you think," said Katherine evenly._

_"Well I think we should be going," put in Michael quickly, standing and retrieving Rose's cloak from a chair. "We promised Samantha and George we'd join them for dinner." Rose took her cloak silently, gazing deliberately at Sirius as she did so. As Lily ushered them out, Rose paused in front of Sirius and said something quietly in his ear, but he only arched an eyebrow and said levelly:_

_"Wouldn't be the first."_

_Rose's doll like eyes widened, then she shook her head and followed Michael out without another word. Katherine looked curiously at him, but he only smiled bitterly and ran a hand through her soft hair._

_"You're gorgeous, you know that?"_

_Katherine rolled her eyes. "Flattery will get you nowhere."_

_"I thought you said you liked being complimented," said Sirius, chuckling._

_"I may like it, but that doesn't mean it will get you anywhere," replied Katherine, blue eyes glinting playfully. The sound of the front door shutting made them look up and Lily reentered, looking apologetic._

_"I am so sorry about that, Sirius. I didn't know they were together – Michael never mentioned her and I'm sure I didn't say he should bring anyone-"_

_"It's all right, Lily," said Sirius soothingly, waving a hand to assuage her fears. "You weren't to know, no harm done."_

_"Are you sure?" asked James, frowning at his friend. He'd stayed out of the argument simply because he wasn't sure if he'd need to restrain Sirius at some point, and he couldn't do that if he was shouting himself, but that didn't mean he wasn't furious at Rose for having the audacity to turn up as though nothing had happened. She'd hurt Sirius more than she knew when she'd broken up with him and James didn't think he'd ever quite gotten over it. _

_It wasn't that Sirius had loved her or anything like that, it was just that he'd spent seven years trying to prove to everyone that he wasn't like his family, and then Rose had turned up and reminded him that no matter how hard he tried, he'd be stuck with that same stigma forever. People were always going to presume the worst, unless you presented them with bona fide evidence that you were innocent._

_"I'm fine, Prongs," assured Sirius airily, walking over to the radio and searching through the stations. "I'm perfectly content with life, all right? Now come on you lot, cheer up – this is supposed to be a party. For the first time in ages we've all got jobs, even Moony, and we're all healthy and happy and we're going to celebrate, ok?"_

_"Ok," agreed James, laughing._

_"Good. Now I'm going to go bring the drinks in here and when I get back, I will personally hex anyone who isn't smiling," said Sirius, turning the radio up and grinning at the room in general. James shook his head, grinning back and Lily pulled a reluctant Peter into a dance. Katherine caught his eye and smiled bitterly; they both knew Sirius wasn't fine, but Katherine would make sure he was later and James was content to leave it to her – there were some things that girls could handle better than boys._

_"I'm impressed." James jumped and turned to see Remus standing beside him._

_"What?"_

_"Well you've been in same room as Katherine for at least ten minutes and not only have you refrained from arguing with her, you've actually agreed with her on several points. I'd say that alone calls for celebration – I'm surprised Sirius didn't point it out in his little speech."_

_"Maybe he thought it'd jinx it," said James, as Sirius reentered, floating a tray of bottles and a crate of beer before him. Sirius caught them looking at him and grinned before grabbing Katherine and pulling her into a dance besides Peter and Lily. "He loves her, doesn't he?"_

_Remus looked seriously at his friend. "I think so, and really, would you be so against their relationship if you thought it wasn't going anywhere?"_

_"If she hurts him, I'll kill her," said James quietly, watching them calmly. Remus just smiled, and summoned a bottle of butterbeer. The song on the radio changed and Peter and Lily stopped dancing as a piano picked out the first few bars of a slow ballad. James smiled softly and held out a hand to his wife, who took it as Peter flopped down onto the sofa._

_James cast a glance over Lily's shoulder as she lay her head on his chest and caught Sirius' eye as he glanced up. He smiled and Sirius returned it, before shifting his attention back to Katherine. Maybe Moony was right. They weren't soulmates, but maybe they didn't need to be. In times of crisis, you take what you can get, and if Katherine made Sirius happy, maybe that was all that mattered._

_He smiled, resting his chin on Lily's soft red hair. Still, if Katherine couldn't handle a few arguments ever now and again, she definitely wasn't good enough for him..._

x – X – x

Harry felt a hand on his shoulder and a moment later he was in the kitchen once more. He glanced up at Remus who was frowning slightly and Harry realised a moment later that Katherine had disappeared.

"She's not-?" he began, looking worriedly at the pensieve, but Remus shook his head.

"She just disapparated," he said quietly, neglecting to tell Harry the expression that had been on her face. There had been a reason she'd vanished so quickly.

"Who was that woman?"

"Hmm? Oh, her name was Rose Perseus. She went out with Sirius in seventh year, then someone's father was killed by Death Eaters and she dumped him," said Remus, sighing tiredly. "Sirius never quite forgave her."

"She dumped him because Death Eaters attacked someone's father?" asked Harry incredulously. Remus gave him a shrewd look.

"You have to understand that the war was just really starting to get going when we left school – Hogwarts was probably the safest place to be with Dumbledore there, and the full impact of it didn't really reach us. It's one thing to read about attacks in the papers, but quite another to have someone you know affected by it. The person who's father died was in Rose's House, and I would think there probably would have been a great deal of speculation over who could have done it." Remus leant on the back of a chair and looked seriously at Harry. "You know yourself that most of Sirius' family were Death Eaters, and when people are angry and hurt, they don't tend to think straight."

"She thought he might be a Death Eater?"

"Maybe," shrugged Remus. "Maybe she just didn't want to be associated with someone whose family was so heavily involved with Voldemort."

"But Sirius had left home by then, hadn't he?"

Remus smiled wanly. "Yes, but he hadn't made it common knowledge. Much as he hated his parents, I don't think he was quite reconciled to the fact that they'd disowned him back then. After all, parents are supposed to love you unconditionally – being disowned is not something you really wish to shout from the rooftops."

"My dad – he was arguing with her?"

"Well they never did get along. James thought Sirius was being reckless and he didn't trust Katherine."

"And Katherine?"

"Katherine knew where he was coming from but couldn't care less," smiled Remus. "I think that was actually what annoyed James the most."

"Did she really love him?" asked Harry, thinking about Sirius' face when he'd been dancing with Katherine. He'd looked happy – happier than Harry ever remembered him being before.

Remus looked at Harry soberly; did Katherine love Sirius? She'd given up her friends for him, abandoned Severus for him – and Remus knew that however much she claimed she didn't regret it, that had been one the hardest things she'd ever done and, after seeing that memory replayed in front of her, she'd been on the verge of tears and that was saying something; it took a lot to make Katherine cry. So had she loved him?

"Yes."

x – X – x

Severus awoke to the sound of a piano playing somewhere in the house. He sat up, glancing at his watch. It was only two o'clock, he must have dozed off after lunch. He sat still for a while, listening the hauntingly sweet melody before he realised that Nicki had gone back to work an hour ago.

He got up and headed out of the lounge and into the study across the hall. Katherine looked up when he came in, hands frozen over the keys.

"Hi. Sorry, did I wake you up?" Severus just stared, not quite knowing whether to yell or hug her. "Cat got your tongue?" she asked quietly, attempting a smile. Severus frowned. _Attempting_? Had she been crying?

"What's the song?"

"Ange déchu," replied Katherine in an English accent, though Severus knew the name was French.

"It's good. Who wrote it?"

Katherine smiled faintly, though it was tinged with sadness. "Sirius."

"Black?" asked Severus, surprised. She nodded. "I didn't know he wrote music."

"There were a lot of things you didn't know about him," said Katherine, turning away.

"Are you going to tell me where you've been?" asked Severus, ignoring this slight.

"Why bother? You already know," said Katherine quietly, starting to play again. "Avery told you."

"How do you know that?" asked Severus, staring at her. Katherine smiled, though Severus could detect little warmth in it.

"A little birdie told me."

"I've been worried."

"What d'you want? A medal?"

Severus arched an eyebrow. What on earth with up with her? First she came in without so much as a word and now she was acting like he'd done something wrong.

"I was just saying," he said in a clipped voice. "You could have been killed. What the hell were you thinking giving Potter your wand? What would you have done if Bella had found out it was you?"

Katherine stopped playing and turned to face him.

"I would have run like hell," she said softly. "And who told you I gave Potter my wand?"

"Avery isn't as good at Occlumency as he likes to think," said Severus, glaring down at her with dark green eyes. Katherine stared back at him for a moment, then looked away.

"Well I'm back now, ok? And I'm fine. You don't need to worry."

Severus arched an eyebrow. "Katherine, for as long as you exist on this planet I don't think it would be possible for me not to worry about you. You're always going to be in some sort of trouble."

"Yeah well, I'm a big girl now. I can look after myself," said Katherine firmly. Severus smiled bitterly.

"Everyone needs someone to look after them." Katherine laughed darkly at this.

"Nice philosophy. Does it include Tom?" Severus appeared to think for a moment, then said carefully.

"No, your father needs someone to take care of him. But I think you've got that pretty much wrapped up yourself." He smiled faintly at the look she gave him. "Like I said: Avery isn't as good at Occlumency as he likes to think."

Katherine watched suspiciously as he left the room, turning his words over in her mind. Robert had said Severus used to teach at Hogwarts. Exactly how close had he been to Dumbledore? Would he have – but no. Severus had _killed_ Dumbledore. You didn't do that sort of thing unless you meant it.

But as Katherine resumed her playing of _Ange déchu_ she couldn't quite ignore the nagging voice at the back of her mind that was trying to remind her that people don't usually_ mean_ to get sent to Azkaban...

**x – X – x**

Reviews are welcome. :)


	32. Truth is relative

**Chapter 31 – Truth is relative**

"Harry, can I see that note again?"

Harry looked up from his musings and stared blankly at Hermione.

"Note?"

"Regulus' note," said Hermione patiently, smiling slightly.

"I, uh, haven't got it," he said slowly. Ron, who had been perusing _The Prophet_, looked up, eyes wide.

"Haven't got it?"

"No, someone swapped it," said Harry, pulling the locket out of his robes and tossing it over to him. "I think it was Katherine; I've only showed it to you two, her and Avery, and I doubt he would have done it."

"So what's this then?" asked Ron; he was holding up the piece of paper with the rose header.

"I think it's a way for us to communicate," shrugged Harry. He still wasn't quite sure of his feelings towards Katherine, but he knew that if she'd been with Sirius, she probably would have known about the mirrors he and James used in school and afterwards. He wondered vaguely why she'd said this was better; he hadn't had the chance to ask her at their last meeting.

"Write a letter?" asked Ron. "Couldn't we do that anyway?"

Hermione rolled her eyes and took the parchment from his hand, then, carefully, she dropped a bead of ink onto the creamy surface. It shone there for a moment, then disappeared.

"Magic," said Harry unenthusiastically, trying to ignore the unnerving similarities between the parchment and Riddle's diary. _Like father, like daughter... _"Why did you want the note anyway, Hermione?"

"I was just thinking – how exactly does the end of it go?"

Harry shrugged, reciting it by heart. "I face death in the hope that when you meet your match, you will be mortal once more."

"Those were his exact words?"

"Yes, why? Is it important?" asked Harry, raising an eyebrow. He didn't think it was particularly strange that Regulus should have thought he wouldn't survive for very long after the locket was taken – he must have thought he'd get discovered – or maybe he already knew Voldemort was after him. Hermione shrugged, but she looked troubled.

"It's just, well, Katherine said it was Regulus who told her about the Horcruxes, right? I mean, I know she hasn't actually said all that much about him, but he must have told her there was more than just the locket, right? Else she wouldn't be looking for more than one."

"What's your point?" asked Ron, looking at her with a bewildered expression on his face.

"Didn't you hear the last line of Regulus' note?" said Hermione with exaggerated patience. "_The hope that you will be mortal once more_. Do they sound to you the words of a man who thinks there's more than one Horcrux?"

There was an uncomfortable silence while the two boys processed this idea. Harry had to admit that Hermione had a point – Regulus sounded like he thought he'd found Voldemort's only Horcrux and that it's destruction would make him weak enough to be brought down. But if that were the case, why had he told Katherine that there was more than one?

"Maybe he wanted to trick You-Know-Who?" suggested Ron uncertainly. "You know, catch him off guard. If he thought only one Horcrux had been discovered, he might go into battle thinking he was indestructible when really all the other Horcruxes are gone too?"

"If I were Voldemort, and I found that note, I'd check the other Horcruxes," said Harry darkly. "He's not stupid – Regulus would have known that."

"That's another thing I don't get," said Hermione softly. "Why leave the note? I mean, _'I know I will be dead long before you read this'_ does rather seem to imply that he thought Voldemort would read it at some point, but why? Does he check up on them?"

"Look, wouldn't Katherine have thought of all this?" said Ron, shifting in his seat. "She's not exactly stupid either."

"No, but she's had other things on her mind," said Harry mildly, thinking of the talk he'd had with Remus the night before. _'...yes, she loved him, Harry. She went to Azkaban loving him, and I think she always half expected to come out and find him again - I know Sirius did. He was devastated when she was arrested, but then the Prophecy came about and your Mum and Dad had to go into hiding, and he had other things demanding his attention. I don't think either of them ever quite got over the fact that they didn't get to say goodbye...'_

"I think we should ask," said Hermione quietly. "Just to be on the safe side."

Harry nodded and took the rose headed paper from where it lay on the table in front of Hermione.

"Are you sure it's from Katherine?" asked Ron, frowning worriedly as Harry picked up a quill.

"No," answered Harry, looking at the words written beneath the roses. "But it's hardly likely to come from a dead man, is it?" He ignored the utterly perplexed looks his two best friends gave him and wrote a short message.

_We need to talk._

_It's not about Sirius._

He watched as the ink disappeared into the parchment, then sat back to wait. After about a minute's silence, Ron spoke up, confusion etched into his voice.

"Harry?"

"Yes?"

"What was that about a dead man?"

Harry sighed and was about to reply when the parchment in front of him glowed gold. He picked it up warily and the glow faded, words scrawling across it in black ink.

_**St James Park.**_

_**One hour.**_

x – X – x

Harry looked up as a pretty young woman with short auburn hair sat herself down next to him. She looked about twenty five, he thought, but then she turned to look at him and he saw the eyes.

"Katherine?"

"Did you know there're a couple of Aurors over there?" asked Katherine, smiling pleasantly and relaxing in her seat. Harry was almost surprised that this didn't seem to bother her at all – almost.

"No. Who are they following?"

"You mean me or you?" asked Katherine, lips quirking into a smile. "At a guess, I'd say you."

"Dare I ask why?"

"I don't get followed," said Katherine, eyes glinting challengingly. "They can't track me. Only Alastor's ever come close." She shrugged, eyes flickering over the undercover Aurors. "So, what did you want to talk to me about? And where are the other two?"

"They're covering for me," said Harry carefully, trying not to look at the Aurors; he didn't want them to know he knew they were there. "Look, did you take Regulus' note? 'Cause that paper thing is yours, isn't it? And that Latin stuff is done in Regulus' handwriting."

Katherine gave him a sideways glance, something like approval in her deep blue eyes.

"Yes, I took it. It's safe – you don't want just anyone getting their hands on it." She sighed, exhaling loudly and looking up at the clear September sky. "And _that paper thing_ is a way of contacting me – and Robert when he finds his." She smiled faintly, adding, "But you already figured that out."

"What do you mean when Robert finds his?"

"We all used have one – me, Reg and Rob," explained Katherine. "Don't worry, I didn't give you Reg's – that wouldn't be...right. I've burnt his – yours is new. That's why it's not connected to Robert's yet. Anyway, that's not what you wanted to talk about, is it?"

"Not exactly, no. I wanted to ask – did Regulus tell you there was more than one?" A slight frown crossed Katherine's face and at last she said slowly:

"Now why would you ask a thing like that?"

"You've read the note," said Harry levelly. "He doesn't sound like he knew that more than one had been made. So what exactly did he say to you, because I know you thought there was quite a few of them." Katherine breathed out heavily, running a tanned arm through her short ruffled hair.

"He didn't."

"Didn't know?"

"Didn't actually say there was more than one," said Katherine quietly. "He didn't have time – but he gave me his research and told me about _that_ one. He did know, I'm sure of that."

"But the note-"

"Yes, the note," sighed Katherine. "I suppose it does rather give that impression, doesn't it? But the thing is, he only found it about a week before he died, so unless he tried to kill Dad or something – which I assure you I would have noticed – I can't see how he would suddenly change his mind."

"Maybe he found another one?" suggested Harry, but Katherine shook her head.

"He would have told me. Besides, he wouldn't have kept looking, would he? And I hardly think Dad is likely to go flaunting them around the place." But even as she said it, Harry could tell she didn't believe it – not quite.

"Maybe he wouldn't, but someone else might," said Harry quietly, and Katherine's head snapped round to face him, fine eyebrows drawn together in a frown. "Malfoy gave Ginny the diary to open the Chamber, remember?"

"Malfoy did that?" asked Katherine, incredulously.

"Yes – he hates muggleborns," said Harry, wondering why she was surprised. "He was hoping Slytherin's monster would kill them all."

"But you destroyed it," said Katherine softly. "He sent it into Hogwarts and you destroyed it. No wonder Dad's angry at him."

"Voldemort's angry at Malfoy?" asked Harry, staring at her.

"Bloody furious," agreed Katherine. "Avery said it was because he lost the Prophecy, but I thought that was rather odd, because there's more than one way of retrieving it and Dad wouldn't be _that_ mad over the words of a seer."

"You think it's because he let the diary get destroyed?"

"Potter, you Crucio someone for failing you – you don't enlist their son unless they did something _really_ bad."

"What?" Harry was aware that he was gaping at her, but didn't care. He knew Draco had become a Death Eater but- "Voldemort forced him into it?"

Katherine smiled sourly. "You don't refuse the Dark Lord unless you really want to die. Even then he'd probably use you as an Inferi."

"But he didn't want to do it?" asked Harry, though he thought he already knew the answer. _Draco crying in the toilets, his face when Dumbledore had been talking to him on the top of the tower..._

"Not many people do – not unless you're mental like Crouch, or just plain thick like Crabbe, if you think he's actually capable of making a decision without Malfoy hissing in his ear. Oh yes, and then there are the people like him – Malfoy – who relish the idea of being involved in _The Cause_ because they're too blinkered to see where it will lead. And those who are just plain scared."

"And where do you fit in?" questioned Harry, surprised to find he really wanted to know. Katherine shrugged; she'd never really believed in The Cause, had just wanted to know her father, had just been stupid.

"I guess I just got a little too caught up in it – went with the flow and didn't realise how deep in I was until it was too late."

"And then?"

"I figured I had two choices – go along with it and pretend everything was all right, even though I knew I'd never agree, or try and get out and be killed." She gave him a twisted smile. "Needless to say I chose survival."

"And now you want to kill him."

"It's my only way out – the only way we'll ever be free. Rob's got a kid, so has Daemon. D'you think they like knowing that as soon as they're old enough, he's going to summon them and they'll get pulled into the whole tangled web too? You can only protect people for so long."

"Like Malfoy."

"Yeah, and that _really_ doesn't add up," said Katherine, shoving her hands in her pocket and looking up at the sky again. "Even he wouldn't put that diary in danger if he knew what it was – he must have known he'd pay if it got damaged. And he's not as arrogant as to believe that that wasn't a possibility. Much safer to keep it locked up in vault at Gringotts or even his house, where no one will ever find it."

"You think he didn't know?" asked Harry, raising an eyebrow. "But Voldemort wouldn't give it to him without telling him what it was, or at least warning him not to damage it, would he?"

"No," said Katherine, but something in her tone made Harry think she was still dubious about it.

"What? No, he wouldn't tell him?"

"No, he wouldn't give it to him without telling him."

"But he had it-"

"Yes, he had it eleven years after Voldemort fell. But that doesn't mean he had it all the time." She stood, eyeing the Aurors thoughtfully. "I have to go check something out. Leave it with me – I'll get back to you when I'm done."

"And when will that be?" demanded Harry, half considering insisting on going with her, but deciding against it. It probably wouldn't be a good idea. Katherine appeared to think about this for a moment, face scrunched up in thought.

"About three hours? Maybe four? Depends on how willing people are to talk."

"And if they're unwilling?"

Katherine grinned. "I know someone who brews some excellent verita serum."

x – X – x

"Regulus?" asked Auriga Nott, ice blue eyes narrowing in suspicion. "Why do you want to know about him? He's dead, Katherine – you know that."

"Yes," agreed Katherine, looking down and running a hand through her dark hair. "But did anyone visit him in the two weeks prior to his death?"

"Anyone like a Death Eater anyone?"

"Anyone unusual – maybe someone who hadn't visited for ages, or who you didn't think he knew very well?" asked Katherine. This was a long shot and she knew it, but she had to try.

Auriga shook her head. "It was a long time ago, Katherine. I can't honestly remember."

"So Malfoy didn't show up?"

"Malfoy?" asked Auriga, eyebrows raised. "Why on earth would Malfoy be visiting Regulus at home?"

Katherine shrugged. "I don't know."

"So why are you asking?"

"Because if he did, I would," said Katherine softly, meeting Auriga's gaze at last. Auriga frowned slightly, considering.

"This is important, isn't it? It's got something to do with that project Reg was working on, hasn't it?" She smiled at Katherine's look of surprise and relaxed back into her seat. "He wouldn't tell me what it was, but I knew he was up to something. Don't worry – I never told anyone, and I don't intend to ask. If he wouldn't tell me, then I probably shouldn't know."

"I can see why he loved you," said Katherine quietly, smiling a little at the younger woman.

"Yes well, he had to, didn't he?" replied Auriga, smirking. She sighed, smile fading. "I'm really sorry I can't help you, Katherine. I don't think anyone strange came round in those last few weeks. I mean, Andy dropped in one lunch time about a week before, but apart from that-" She shrugged. "No one."

"Right," said Katherine slowly. "Um, when you say Andy, you mean Andromeda, right?" Auriga nodded.

"Yeah, but that wasn't exactly unusual. She came round every now and then to check on Reg – I think it was mostly to reassure Sirius – you know him and Reg could never admit they still cared about each other."

"Yeah," murmured Katherine, glancing at the clock. "Listen, I'd better be going. You've got work to do I'm sure. Thanks for your time."

"No problem. Sorry I couldn't be more help."

x – X – x

Katherine lay on her bed in Nicola's house, thinking. There was something about the whole business that didn't quite add up, but she was damned if she could think what it was. Questioning Auriga had been a dead end, although not quite without it's good points. She knew one thing at least – however Regulus learnt about the other Horcruxes, it wasn't from anyone who visited his flat.

Probably wasn't from Lucius, either. He wasn't an idiot, however much she liked to make him out to be, and he must have known Tom would come back one day – and the price he would pay if he put a portion of his master's soul into danger. But if Lucius hadn't known, how had he got hold of the diary? It wasn't the kind of thing you left lying around.

She exhaled, shutting her eyes. _No visitors except Andromeda, and that wasn't unusual. Checking up on Reg for Sirius._

_Checking up on Reg for Sirius?_

Katherine frowned, opening her eyes again. Why on earth would Sirius need to ask his cousin to check up on Reg when he was engaged to a Death Eater?


	33. Black tales

**Chapter 32 – Black tales**

Ted Tonks opened the door to his house and looked politely at the woman on the doorstep.

"Hello. Can I help?"

The woman looked uncertain for a second, but only for a second. She smiled brightly.

"Does Andromeda live here?"

"Andromeda who?" asked Ted, careful not to look suspicious. Both his wife and daughter had warned him against letting strangers in, even going as far as to say not to open the door when he was in alone. There was a war on, they said, and you couldn't be too careful. Coming from anyone else, Ted would have listened with a degree of scepticism, and gone on to deliberately ignore their advice, but he trusted his wife. He'd met her sisters.

The woman on the doorstep was looking slightly puzzled, as though she hadn't been expecting this question. She laughed with an air of embarrassment.

"Would I sound like a complete idiot if I said I don't actually know?" she asked, meeting his gaze with brilliant blue eyes. "It used to be Andromeda Black, but she married." There was a pause, then: "I'm guessing you're the husband."

"How did you know her?" asked Ted, ignoring the assumption.

"Old school friend, well, more like acquaintance, really. I was friends with her cousin." She hesitated at the look on his face and bit her lip. "Ok, not really the best thing to say, was it? I was friends with the cousin that wasn't a raving lunatic. And I was engaged to the one that wasn't a Death Eater." Again she paused, thinking this over. "Does she know that?"

"That you were engaged to her cousin?" asked Ted, wondering how far he would get if he slammed the door and ran. Then he remembered his daughter saying she'd put up wards around the house to protect it – only witches or wizards on the list his wife had written up would be let through, but Ted had met everyone on that list and he'd certainly never seen this woman before. Yet she'd said school friend and she appeared to know Andromeda's cousins…

The woman was shaking her head, forehead creased in thought.

"That he wasn't a Death Eater," she said softly. "Look, is she in?"

"How did you get through the wards?" Ted asked quietly, frowning at her, hand already moving towards the door handle, ready to close it.

"Wards?" asked the woman, gazing around and up. She squinted in the late September sunlight, and made a noise of approval. "They're very good – who cast them?"

Behind him, Ted heard his wife come down the stairs, asking who it was.

"What's your name?" he asked the woman, realising she hadn't told him. The woman's attention snapped back to him and she gave him a lazy smile.

"Now I'm definitely not telling you that. Andy'd refuse point blank to see me if you said-" She broke off as Andromeda herself appeared next to her husband, looking quizzically past him to see who the visitor was. "Ah. Andy. Hello."

Andromeda's large brown eyes widened at the sight of the woman and Ted saw her pull her wand out of the back of her jeans, keeping her hand behind her back.

"So the rumours are true."

"They usually are," replied the woman, smiling faintly. "It's the true stories you have to watch out for."

"Who sent you?"

"I did. I need to talk to you."

Andromeda considered this for a minute, then nodded slowly, opening the door to admit her. After the woman had stepped inside, and Andromeda had directed her to the lounge, she turned her husband.

"Send an owl to Nymphadora, tell her Katherine Riddle is here, and then leave. It doesn't matter where you go, just take the car and get out of here."

Ted nodded, but hesitated. "What about you?"

"I'll be fine. The Aurors will take care of everything and she won't harm me – not if she wants something."

"But you said there were many ways they could make people talk."

"There are, but she won't use them. Out of respect for Reg, she won't hurt me, now go."

Ted nodded, and headed into the kitchen to write the letter. Andromeda stood alone in the hall for a moment then entered the lounge. Katherine was standing with her back to the door, examining the photographs on the mantle piece.

"Setting the Aurors on me, Andy? You know that won't work." She turned, but her sapphire eyes weren't angry or accusing. She smiled. Andromeda didn't.

"You've got five minutes. That letter will take three minutes to get to my daughter, and I should think the Aurors wouldn't waste more than two once they know you're here."

"Ah yes, your daughter. She has an interesting taste in men, I must say," remarked Katherine, frowning slightly.

"You've met?" Andromeda was surprised; Nymphadora hadn't mentioned anything.

"Once or twice. She only tried to kill me on one occasion, I think, but who's counting?"

"I am – four minutes," she said softly as the front door slammed shut; Ted had left. They were alone and Andromeda was starting to think that maybe this wasn't such a good idea. Nymphadora would certainly be lecturing her later if she got through this – but then what else could she have done? You don't turn someone like Katherine away unless you have a death wish, and if she hadn't informed the Ministry and someone had seen Riddle arrive, she'd be accused of being in league with You-Know-Who. It was hard enough warding away suspicion as it was, what with both her sisters and cousins being Death Eaters.

"When was the last time you saw Regulus?" asked Katherine, evidently deciding to cut straight to the chase. Andromeda was startled – whatever she'd been expecting, it wasn't this. "Please? It's important," said Katherine.

"I – why?"

"_Because_," said Katherine testily. "You're the one who put a time limit on this conversation, Andy, not me."

"Well what was I meant to do? You just turned up on the doorstep in broad daylight!"

"I was being polite," said Katherine, voice low. "If I'd apparated right into your kitchen you would have hexed me and run. I need you to speak to me. Auriga said you went to see Reg about a week before he died – what did you talk about? She thought you were reporting back to Sirius, but he already knew how Reg was because _I_ told him."

"You-?" Andromeda sat down abruptly, and Katherine sighed heavily, glancing at the clock. Three minutes. She unclasped her necklace and slid the diamond ring off it, holding it up in front of Andromeda.

"We were engaged," she said softly, trying to keep the note of desperation out of her voice. She was going to have to explain – it would take up time that she didn't have, but Andromeda wasn't going to cooperate unless she understood, so she had to make time. "And he wasn't a Death Eater, Andy. Trust me, I would know. He didn't betray the Potters – he would never do that in a million lifetimes – it was Peter Pettigrew. He's alive and he's an unregistered Animagus – a rat. He transformed that day, and cut off his finger – he's the one that killed all those people, not your cousin. Peter's the Death Eater, not Sirius."

"Peter in our year?" asked Andromeda slowly. Katherine nodded, wondering how much of this she was actually taking in. Andromeda took the ring from Katherine's loose grip, gazing at it, lost in thought. "Bella." She said at last.

Katherine cast a nervous glance over her shoulder.

"What?"

Andromeda sighed and looked at her with dark brown eyes, so similar to her cousin's.

"I asked him about Bella. I know she's evil incarnate, but she's my sister, Katherine. I had to know how she was and if…if the rumours were true. If she really had done all the things people were saying she had. Do you know how hard it is, seeing all these reports in the paper of Death Eater attacks and trying to be sympathetic to people who've lost their loved ones, when all the time there's this horrible knowledge at the back of your mind that it might have been your own sisters that did it? Do you have any idea what that's like?"

Katherine shook her head. She never thought her friends and Father might have been involved – she knew whether they were or not. Somehow, that seemed worse; at least Andromeda had hope.

"So you asked him how Bella was?"

"Yes, and he said he hadn't seen her in while, but that he'd go and check on her if I wanted. I said I didn't mind, but I think he went anyway – I don't know. I never heard from him after that. Katherine? Katherine, are you all right?"

Katherine glanced at her, waving a hand to say she was fine, even though her face had gone white and Andromeda was sure she'd seen a look of horror cross her face.

"I'd better...I'd better get going," she said after a moments pause. "Sorry if I've got you into trouble, but...well, you're just going to have to believe me when I say it was necessary."

Andromeda nodded, getting to her feet. "Has this got anything to do with... Is Bella in trouble?"

Katherine laughed, and there was a sour note in her voice when she spoke again. "She will be when I catch up with her."

"Oh don't say that," murmured Andromeda, looking imploringly at her. "Don't-"

"She killed Sirius," interjected Katherine, scowling now. Andromeda stopped, staring incredulously at her.

"What?" she whispered, brown eyes wide with shock. "He's...Sirius is-?"

"I'm sorry," said Katherine quietly. "It was last year. He was fighting for the Order and Bella caught up with him."

"How...?" asked Andromeda weakly, leaning against the mantle piece for support. "How did he die?"

"I don't know," replied Katherine, glancing at the clock. She didn't have very much longer before the Aurors came. "I wasn't there. Someone told me a couple of weeks ago."

"You're sure it was her?"

"Yes," said Katherine, meeting her pleading gaze. "I'm sorry."

Andromeda smiled weakly. "Why? It wasn't your fault."

Katherine said nothing, only stood watching her with an odd expression on her face. The thought never even crossed Andromeda's mind that it might be guilt.

"I should go," said Katherine after a short pause. Andromeda nodded, looking at the clock.

"Thank you – for telling me about Sirius."

Katherine smiled faintly. "You needed to know." And then she was gone – out of the room, out of the house and, from the heavy thump that followed a moment later, into the Aurors. Andromeda ran to the front door which was still open and looked down at the slumped figure on her garden path. She hoped he wasn't dead.

She looked up, casting an eye around for Katherine, but she evidently hadn't felt like hanging around. A shout made her turn around and she saw her daughter running towards her. She smiled, suppressing a sigh; this was going to take a _lot_ of explaining.

x – X – x

Robert Avery looked up when he heard the key turn in the door. A minute later, Katherine appeared, plastic carrier bags hanging from each hand. She dumped them on the table, giving him a bemused look.

"Hello. Dare I ask what you're doing here?"

"Nicola let me in," he answered, watching her start to unpack the bags.

"Oh." Katherine paused, fridge door half open. "I don't think I saw her cloak in the hall."

"She went out about half an hour ago," said Robert, studying her with an odd expression on his face. "She said I could stay and wait."

"Wait?"

"I was looking for you."

Katherine shut the fridge and leant against it. "I'm listening." Robert gazed at her for a moment, then shook his head, smiling slightly. "What?" asked Katherine, looking confused. "What's so funny?"

"You are," answered Robert, as she folded her arms, giving him a worried look. "There's a squad of Aurors out looking for you, and you go grocery shopping."

"We were out of milk," said Katherine defensively. "What was it you wanted to see me about anyway?"

"I wanted to know what you were up to," Robert said simply. "Why did you go to see Andromeda Tonks?"

"Tonks?" asked Katherine, arching an eyebrow. "Her surname's Tonks? But I thought her daughter's name was-"

"Her daughter's name is Nymphadora," explained Robert calmly. "Which is why she prefers to go by her last name. And don't avoid the question," he added, as Katherine came to sit down opposite him. Katherine shrugged carelessly.

"Just following up something Potter said."

"What did he say?"

"That Regulus didn't sound as if he knew there was more than one horcrux." She smiled at the confused look on his face and hastened to elaborate. "He didn't – well, when he wrote the note he didn't. I think he found out later – I think he saw the diary Tom made and figured out there must have been at least two, so when I went round just before Bella arrived he gave me all his research instead of just telling me about the locket."

"Right," said Robert slowly. "So he saw the diary? What's the diary?"

"Tom's diary – Malfoy sent it into Hogwarts. Potter says it possessed someone and made them open the Chamber of Secrets. It's gone now, I think I recall him saying he stabbed it with a basilisk fang." She smiled as Robert let this sink in.

"He destroyed a horcrux when he was twelve?"

"It's his destiny, remember?" grinned Katherine, flicking her wand in the direction of the kettle to turn it on. "_The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches,_" she added, lowering her voice, eyes glinting wickedly.

"I'm glad you find this amusing," remarked Robert, arching an eyebrow at her. "Because some of us don't have your remarkable talent for refusing to die."

Katherine grinned and shrugged carelessly. "Death is just a state of mind. Want any tea?"

"No, I'm all right, thanks," said Robert slowly as she got up to make herself a cup. "Listen, there was something else I wanted to ask – the main thing I wanted to ask, actually."

"Yes?" she asked, not looking round.

"How did you get to Andromeda's house? And how did you get out again? Because I know you were there – you knocked an Auror out, for heaven's sake, but I looked at our records and I can't find you anywhere. The wards didn't register you at all and I know you didn't apparate or Floo on either network." He watched her closely as he continued; she hadn't turned around yet. "I know you're good at Portkeys, Katherine, but believe me, if you'd used one, I would be able to find out and you didn't. You just...appeared – out of thin air – and then disappeared. How the hell can you do that?"

Katherine fished the teabag out of her mug and picked up the cup, turning to face him with a blank look that he knew of old. It meant he wasn't going to get anything out of her no matter what he said.

He tried anyway.

"The Aurors did a search, you know. About thirty seconds after you stunned that guy, and you weren't anywhere within a five mile radius, so don't try saying you hid or ran – no one moves that fast."

"Maybe I transformed," said Katherine, face still the picture of innocence.

"The wards weren't disturbed," said Robert sighing. "I told you that – they didn't register anything apart from Aurors passing through them – and I know you didn't morph into an Auror because that wouldn't fool the wards in the slightest – they're too good for that."

"Yes they were," agreed Katherine, surprising Robert; he hadn't expected that. "Do you know who cast them?"

"Tonks probably," shrugged Robert. "Are you going to answer my question or not?"

"Not," said Katherine, smiling maddeningly. "You're the genius – you figure it out."

Robert opened his mouth to argue but at that moment the door opened and Severus walked in.

"I thought I heard voices," he said softly. "Hello Robert."

"Hi," said Robert, glancing at Katherine and considering pushing the point for a moment, but then he saw the look Severus was giving Katherine and decided that maybe it was better to leave. Katherine probably wouldn't tell him anything anyway.

As he stood to make his excuses, however, a thought struck him and before he could stop himself he asked suddenly:

"Does Malfoy know?"

Katherine glanced sharply at him and Severus frowned.

"Does Malfoy know what?" he asked, giving Robert a suspicious look, but Katherine shook her head.

"No – he doesn't. Don't worry." She smiled. "I expect you'd better be getting back to Cass – she'll be wondering where you are."

He nodded, apparating, and, in his relief for the excuse, completely missed the look in Katherine's eyes and the real reason behind her helpfulness.

Back in the kitchen Severus looked warily at his old friend.

"What are you up to?" he asked as she lounged against the sideboard, hands wrapped around the steaming mug of tea.

"Nothing," she said carelessly, smiling brightly and sipping her tea. Severus arched an eyebrow, looking dubious and after a while said softly.

"Be careful, Katherine. Please."

Katherine glanced at him, blue eyes betraying her surprised, but an instant later she smiled again.

"There's nothing wrong, Severus, really. Nothing to worry about."

A second later an owl tapped at the window and Katherine turned to let it in, taking the cream envelope from it's beak before it flew off again. Severus watched it go as Katherine opened the letter and wondered why Remus had written to her. He didn't usually do that – not unless it was something important.

Katherine turned round, pocketing the letter with a slight frown on her face.

"Not from your friend?" asked Severus, seeing her expression. Katherine smiled vaguely.

"Not exactly. I think I may have upset his girlfriend."

"Tonks?" asked Severus, not quite managing to keep the surprise from his voice. "He-" he paused, seeing her warning expression and decided not to finish that sentence. Instead he asked calmly: "What did you do?"

"Well I think the fact that I'm alive is the main problem," said Katherine in a mock thoughtful voice. She grinned. "And I think she may be slightly jealous for some obscure reason. Knowing Rem he probably hasn't explained things incredibly well."

"Well you two do have rather a strange relationship," pointed out Severus gently. Katherine gave him an odd look.

"We're just friends," she said quietly.

"And you'd do anything for him," replied Severus, looking at her with an unreadable expression.

"So? I'd do anything for you as well," she retorted, adding quickly, "I'd do anything for any of my friends."

"Are you quite sure about that?" asked Severus.

"Yes - if it was important, I would," said Katherine stubbornly. "Why on earth would you think I wouldn't?"

Severus shrugged. "You abandoned us for over a decade, Katherine. You lied to us – you pretended to be dead. You can't expect trust to come back over night."

Katherine gazed at him for a long moment then she said quietly. "I don't lie."

"No?"

"No. People just misinterpret me."

"We misinterpreted a corpse?"

"Yes."

Severus stared at her, then shook his head. "You're impossible, you know that?"

Katherine raised an eyebrow but what she had been about to say, Severus never found out because at that moment he felt the Dark Mark burn, and saw Katherine's hand fly to her left arm. They looked at each other and without another word turned and headed for the fireplace. The argument could wait – it wasn't as if they were ever in want of one.


	34. Confrontation

**Chapter 33 – Confrontation**

Harry stared at the piece of paper in front of him with an exasperated expression. He'd been checking it every ten minutes since he'd left Katherine, and now she'd finally got around to writing back, it was only to say:

_**Regulus knew there was more than one horcrux.**_

That was it. No explanation – just the plain facts. He grabbed a quill and wrote:

_How?_

A minute later, new words scrawled themselves across the paper.

_**He saw the diary.**_

Harry bit his lip, thinking for a few seconds before writing back:

_So Malfoy had it?_

Two minutes passed till Katherine replied and Harry wondered if it was because she was deciding how to put something down that wasn't a direct lie. As it was, her answer was simply:

_**No.**_

He tried again, beginning to get the idea that Katherine was more cryptic than the Sphinx he'd met in the Triwizard Maze. He had a feeling he was going to have to write exactly the right kind of questions.

_How did Regulus see it? Who had it?_

He smiled as the ink faded anyway – she shouldn't be able to get out of that. A simple question required a simple answer. Her next words surprised him though.

_**You don't want to know.**_

He frowned, and wrote:

_Yes I do._

Her reply was quick this time.

_**No, really, you don't.**_

Harry scowled, getting annoyed, and scrawled:

_Tell me_

He half expected her to refuse, so the fact that an actual name appeared a short while later was shock enough, but his heart skipped a beat when he allowed himself to register it. _No, no it couldn't be... Not her, not..._

But there it was, black ink still glistening on the creamy parchment.

_**Bellatrix Lestrange.**_

The door opened and Ron poked his head round it.

"Harry, dinner's ready – hey, are you ok?"

"Bellatrix knows about the horcruxes," said Harry quietly. There was silence and Harry glanced up at Ron to see a look of complete horror on his face.

"What? How do you-? How does she-? _What?_"

"She had the diary," said Harry hollowly. "Malfoy must have found it after she'd gone to Azkaban and, I dunno, maybe he wrote in it or something and Tom Riddle told him it could be used to open the Chamber. Katherine doesn't think he knew it was a horcrux."

"And she's sure of that, is she?" asked Ron, frowning. "Did she ask him?"

"She said he wouldn't have put it into danger if he'd known what it was," replied Harry, and after a moments pause added: "She said Voldemort recruited Draco to punish him."

"That's ridiculous – Malfoy wanted to join," said Ron scornfully, but Harry shook his head.

"No he didn't." He glanced down at the paper in front of him and started in surprise at the writing there; he'd forgotten he hadn't replied.

_**Harry?**_

_**Harry, are you still there?**_

_**Don't go after Trix. She's not worth your time.**_

_**If you don't write something soon, I'm coming over there. **_

_**Harry?**_

He scribbled:

_I'm fine._

And then, because he thought it ought to be said:

_Someone needs to go after her._

The reply he got almost surprised him, though he wasn't sure why. Maybe it was because he knew she meant it.

_**No. You can't torture dead people.**_

He looked at the parchment for a while, then sighed, scrawled a goodbye and followed Ron downstairs to dinner.

x – X – x

Katherine stood quietly in the doorway to Remus' kitchen, looking out into his lounge. Remus was on the sofa with his back to her, flicking through a book or a photo album or something; he hadn't noticed she was there yet. Katherine tilted her head, gazing curiously at him and wondering what exactly had possessed Tonks to pose as him. It was a good effort, she had to admit, but Katherine could tell Remus a mile away and the person sitting nervously on the sofa wasn't him.

He looked up suddenly and caught sight of her in the mirror above the mantelpiece. Katherine saw him start and smiled pleasantly as he turned to face her.

"Afternoon, Nymphadora."

Remus stared at her for a moment, then opened his mouth to say something but Katherine spoke before he had the chance.

"I know it's you, Tonks. Remus doesn't look like that – you haven't got the whole anguished-disapproving look he always gives me right. And he's certainly not scared of me," she added, lounging easily against the door jamb.

"I'm not scared of you," said Tonks quietly, morphing back into herself. Katherine shrugged, and Tonks got the feeling she didn't believe her. Tonks didn't blame her – she barely believed herself. She'd seen this woman's file and despite what Remus said, she couldn't see her being anything other than ruthless Death Eater Moody had always made her out to be.

"You wanted to talk? Alone?"

"I haven't told any Aurors," said Tonks, pleased with how calm her voice sounded.

"I know. I checked," said Katherine. "You haven't told Remus, either."

Tonks' eyes widened. "You went to see-" she began, but Katherine shook her head.

"Of course not. It's just that if you had, he would have talked you out of it. He would have known I wouldn't be fooled by a letter and a disguise."

"Oh?" asked Tonks weakly.

"Remus doesn't send me owls," said Katherine quietly, giving her an odd look.

"Then how does he contact you?" frowned Tonks, staring at her.

"He doesn't," said Katherine simply.

"But if he was in trouble-"

"Then I'd know."

"Not if it wasn't Death Eater related," said Tonks hotly.

"I'd know," repeated Katherine softly. "If he needs my help, I'll know."

"Did you know when you were in Azkaban?" asked Tonks, arching an eyebrow. "He needed you then. When the Potters died – when Peter was murdered – when Sirius was sent to Azkaban – did you know then? Where you there for him then?" Katherine gave her a look that would have frozen steam.

"He was safe," she said quietly. "He was hurting, but he was safe. He survived."

"He might not have. You didn't even check."

"I did," objected Katherine, glaring at her.

"How? You never left Azkaban!"

"Yes I did. I made an appeal. I was taken back to court."

Tonks laughed scornfully. "Oh yes, I've read about that. You said you had names for them – you said you'd exchange them for freedom and then you went and said Dumbledore and Moody were Death Eaters! You even said the French Minister of Magic was a Death Eater! That wasn't an appeal, that was a joke!"

"Yes. But Remus came," said Katherine in a quiet voice that nevertheless demanded attention. "And I knew he was ok."

"But he didn't have anyone to talk to! He was alone!" shouted Tonks, scowling at the black haired woman before her. "How he possibly have been ok?" Katherine looked mildly at her.

"He wasn't."

"So why-?" started Tonks but Katherine held up a hand.

"Not 'he wasn't ok' – he wasn't alone," she said in that same quiet voice that put Tonks on edge.

"What?"

"He isn't entirely devoid of friends, you know," said Katherine calmly. "There are those who stuck by him when he lost everything. And like I said – he survived. He's fighter, however much he likes to pretend he's not."

"Who stuck by him?" asked Tonks, in a slightly calmer voice. "He never mentioned anyone."

"I don't suppose he likes to talk about it much," said Katherine levelly. "It wasn't one of the better times in his life."

Tonks gave her a long look, then said: "I don't mind."

"Mind what?" asked Katherine blankly.

"If it was a girl." Katherine put her head to one side, surveying her curiously but not saying anything. Tonks sighed. "Well it has to be a girl, doesn't it? Or you would have said otherwise. You know he hasn't told me about her, so you're not going to say anything in case I get angry or something, right?"

Katherine smiled faintly, but remained infuriatingly silent. Tonks frowned at her, wondering what she wanted. If she wasn't saying anything, she was probably waiting for her to finish her theorising, but she had finished. Hadn't she? Remus had been comforted by a girl – end of story.

But Katherine hadn't come right out and said that, had she? And why would Katherine have thought she'd be angry? She was just glad he'd had someone to talk to. So why be angry? It wasn't as though the girl was still arou-

Tonks' eyes widened and she stared at Katherine in shock.

"Faye," she said softly. "It was Faye, wasn't it? That's why they act so strangely whenever I'm around. They don't want to let something slip."

Katherine made a face. "Well, to be fair, they're probably talking about me and don't want you to hear." She smiled grimly. "Rem says you don't like me very much."

"Funny. He said the same thing to me," replied Tonks sourly.

"He was telling the truth."

There was quiet for a moment, then Tonks said:

"Why did you tell me about Faye?"

"I didn't." Tonks scowled at her; fine, if this was the way she wanted to play...

"Why did you make – _let_ – me work it out?"

Katherine smiled. "Do you want my truth or your truth?"

"I want _the_ truth."

Katherine grinned, irritatingly. "That would imply that truth is absolute."

"That would be because it is," said Tonks through gritted teeth. She didn't know how Remus put up with this woman.

"No it's not," said Katherine calmly. She looked at Tonks for a moment, then said. "I told you because you deserved to know. If Rem told you, you'd fly off the handle. I thought if I told you, you'd be fine with it to spite me."

Tonks snorted. "That's not true."

Katherine grinned, as though she'd passed some sort of test. "What is the truth then?"

Tonks was quiet for a moment, then said slowly. "I think you told me because you want me to confront Remus about it. You want me to think he's cheating on me with Faye and break up with him."

Katherine smiled, gazing at her from under dark black lashes.

"It's not going to work," said Tonks resolutely, glaring at her. "I trust Remus – I _love_ Remus, and nothing you can say is going to change that. I don't know why you don't like me, but if it doesn't bother Remus, I'm not going to let it bother me."

Katherine was quiet for a moment, and Tonks thought she was frowning slightly. Eventually, she said: "Don't you?"

"Don't I what?" asked Tonks, slightly deflated. She'd been expecting her to deny it or say that she was acting in Remus' best interests or _something_, not ask a question.

"Don't you know why I don't like you?"

Tonks stared blankly at her; she hadn't really given it much thought. She was a Slytherin and a Death Eater. It stood to reason she wouldn't like a Gryffindor, much less an Auror.

"Do you need a reason?"

"Everything has a reason."

"What is it then?" she asked, curious despite herself.

"I'm Remus' best friend. It's my job," said Katherine simply, and now Tonks thought she could see laughter glinting in those impossibly blue eyes. "And yes, what you said was the truth – your truth. It'll probably be Remus' too if you tell him about it."

Tonks leant against the back of the sofa, looking thoughtfully at Remus' oldest friend. "So what's your truth?"

Katherine smiled. "I wanted to see how you'd react. Remus is a good man – I needed to know you trusted him. After everything he's been through he deserves someone who loves him. For what it's worth, I think he's found them."

"Do you mean me or Faye?" asked Tonks and Katherine laughed.

"Do you really think I'm going to answer that?"

"No, not really," said Tonks, with a small sigh. "Remus did say you're the most irritating person he knows."

Katherine grinned. "Yeah, I love him too."

"Why did you go to see my Mother?" asked Tonks in the silence that followed. Katherine smiled; now they were getting somewhere.

"Didn't she tell you?"

"She said you just turned up."

"I did."

"She said you told her Sirius was innocent."

"He was," said Katherine quietly, studying Tonks' face carefully. "She deserved to know."

"So you just felt compelled to tell her? After all this time?" asked Tonks archly.

"Yes," replied Katherine. "I liked your mother, Tonks. We went to school together, she looked out for Regulus – she's a good person. She doesn't deserve sisters like Trix and Narcissa."

"Trix? I've never heard anyone call her that," said Tonks, frowning.

"No, they're too scared; she hates it," said Katherine, lips curling into a smile. "Which is precisely why I shall persist in doing it until I'm dead and buried."

"It's not a good idea to cross Bella," said Tonks softly.

"It's not a good idea to cross me," replied Katherine. Tonks smiled sourly, and Katherine looked curiously at her. "Why didn't you tell your mother about Sirius?"

Tonks looked up. "What?"

"Well you knew, didn't you? Remus must have told you – Sirius was your cousin."

"Yes, I knew."

"But you didn't tell her?"

"How was I meant to explain?" asked Tonks quietly. "She would have wanted to see him – she would have wanted to know how I found out. I couldn't tell her that."

"She doesn't know about Remus, does she?" asked Katherine,

"I told her he was an older man," shrugged Tonks.

"Hmm, not quite the same, though, is it? Not really the same as saying 'I'm dating the guy you went to school with'. Does she know you're in the Order?"

"No," said Tonks, sighing. "She already thinks I'm putting myself in danger by being in the Aurors."

"You are," said Katherine simply. "But if you believe in something, you've got to fight for it."

"Like you fight for You-Know-Who?"

"I don't fight for Tom, I fight for me," said Katherine softly. "No one ever tries to save the whole world, well, not unless your name's Harry Potter. Sensible people just save the ones they love. Potter's not very sensible."

"He's good at it, though."

"Yes." There was a pause, then: "You're good at being an Auror, you know. Those wards were some of the best I've seen."

"You still got through them."

"Yes well, I'm me, aren't I?"

Tonks studied her for a moment, then put her hand in her pocket and pulled out a ring.

"Mum said to give this back to you."

Katherine looked at the engagement ring for a long time, then she looked up at Tonks.

"Tell her to keep it. She needs it more than I do. I doubt she kept anything connected with Sirius – not after he was sentenced. I wouldn't have."

"But it's yours-"

"It's not going to do me a lot of good to keep it, though, is it? He's not coming back. Please – I want her to have it."

"Ok," said Tonks softly, pocketing the ring again.

"I have to go – stuff to do and all that. This war isn't going to fight itself."

Tonks frowned, but decided not to comment. Instead she asked: "Are you going to tell Remus?"

"About what? This?"

"Yes."

"Are you?"

"Well-"

"Look, there's nothing to tell, ok?" said Katherine gently. "Just don't send me any more letters signed with Remus' name. I don't want him getting into trouble."

"Right. Bye then."

"Goodbye."

Tonks let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding when Katherine left. Moody was right about one thing at least – Katherine was definitely one of the strangest people she'd ever met. She sighed and, pulling out her wand to disapparate, tried to shake off the feeling that she'd only just managed to escape with her life.

**x – X – x**

Reviews are welcome. :)


	35. Orphanages and absinthe

**Chapter 34 – Orphanages and absinthe**

"Katherine, what do you do all day?"

Katherine looked up from the evening edition of the Daily Prophet and looked blankly at her friend.

"Sorry?"

"I _said_, what do you do all day? You're never around but you don't have a job, so where do you go?" asked Nicola, sitting down in the chair opposite her. "And don't say you're working for your father, because Severus says you haven't had an assignment for a while."

Katherine cast a narrowed eye look at Severus, who was sitting at a desk with his back to her.

"Oh he does, does he?" she asked calmly.

"Yes, he does," replied Severus, glancing over at her. "The Dark Lord doesn't trust you, Katherine."

"Oh? So he's not completely off his rocker, then?"

Severus gave her an appraising look and returned to his writing.

"Who's in the inner circle now, then?" asked Katherine after a short pause. "If I'm out, and Bella's out, and after what Tom did to Malfoy, I'm guessing he's out, who's in?"

"I'm not in a position to say," said Severus firmly. Katherine laughed.

"Oh give over, Severus. You're his right hand man after Dumbledore." Severus didn't move for a moment, and Nicola shot Katherine a warning look which she ignored. Nicola sighed; she didn't want to be caught up in another of their arguments. She was just trying to decide how best to excuse herself when Severus said quietly:

"Do you want to get back in?" He turned round, gazing at Katherine with eyes like steel.

"No."

"You don't think it would be good if he trusted you?"

"I don't need him to trust me."

"You do know he's got everyone watching you, don't you? You still haven't told anyone how you escaped."

"I fail to see why that's important," said Katherine calmly. "I'm out – that's all there is to it."

At that moment the doorbell rang and Nicola jumped up to get it, silently thanking whatever deity might be listening for giving her an escape route. Back in the lounge, Severus cast a dark look at Katherine.

"He'll find out."

"No he won't."

"I didn't mean how you escaped, Katherine."

"Oh."

"Are you sure you covered your tracks?"

Katherine gave him a disparaging look. "No, Severus, I have a death wish. Of course I covered my tracks. How stupid do you think I am?"

"You're not stupid, you're reckless," replied Severus softly, gazing at her. "And if you carry on like this you're going to get caught and then I'd have a serious problem because I'm not entirely sure I can live without you."

Katherine looked up quickly, staring at him with something like surprise in her eyes and Severus was about to say something when Nicola reentered the room, Robert Avery behind her. They both stopped when they saw what they'd walked in on, but Katherine stood up, seemingly determined to ignore Severus and feigned a smile.

"Hello."

"Hi," said Robert uncertainly, glancing at Severus, who was frowning at Katherine pensively. "I found that report you wanted."

Katherine frowned reaching out to take it. "What report?" She opened the brown file and glanced down at its contents. "Oh. That report." She looked again, surprise on her face this time and Robert smiled sourly.

"Yes, I noticed that too."

"St Catherine's?" asked Severus and Katherine hurriedly shut the file, glaring at him. He arched an eyebrow, as though to say that if she was stupid enough to open it in public she couldn't get cross with people for looking over her shoulder at it. "What are you two doing looking up orphanages?" he asked softly, so that only she could hear.

"Never you mind," she answered, smiling at him with that sweet expression that warned against pushing her any farther as he would almost certainly be the one coming off worse from the ensuing argument.

"I have to get back to work," said Robert tactfully, stepping back out into the hallway.

"I'll show you out," added Nicola quickly, hurrying after him.

"I think we keep scaring them away," said Severus quietly in Katherine's ear. She turned around, a guarded expression on her face. "Oh don't give me that look," he said, sighing tiredly. "I'm not going to tell anyone."

"No?"

"No, because unlike you, I'd very much prefer it if the two of you stayed alive."

"It's not like I try to get myself killed," she snapped back, glaring at him.

"So you don't think this is suicide?"

"I think it's necessary."

Severus heaved a huge sigh and gazed intensely into her eyes. He wasn't going to change her mind and deep down, he didn't really want to.

"If you ever need anything...you know where I am," he said in a soft voice.

"I won't need anything."

He looked at, dark eyes holding her gaze. "I know. But I'll still be here."

x – X – x

"...completely ridiculous!" finished Tonks, throwing her hands up in the air in an exasperated fashion while Remus laughed, pouring her a fresh cup of tea.

"You knew what you were taking on when you joined the Aurors, Tonks," he said, smiling. Tonks glared at him.

"Nowhere in my contract does it say that I have to deal with reckless little hooligans with bad haircuts whose idea of joke is filling the ornamental fountain with muggle washing powder. That is not Auror business – that is caretaker business. We're trying to fight a war and Dawlish's got us tracking down restless teenagers."

Remus laughed again as the doorbell rang, and shook his head, heading back through the hall to the front of the flat. "Maybe he's working up to it, you know, deal with teenagers first and then when you've mastered that, you move onto-" - he opened the door - "-Death Eaters."

"Talking about me?"

"The universe is not centered around you, Katherine. What are you doing here?"

His old friend held up a suspiciously familiar green bottle.

"Ah," he said slowly. "What's happened?"

"Severus is still in love with me."

"And?"

"And the world is ending – Remus, this is bad."

Remus gave her an appraising look. "Katherine, I thought you were suppose to be smart."

"I am."

"And you didn't realise he still loved you?"

"Well yeah, but I didn't think he was going to say anything."

"He said he loved you?"

"No, but this is Severus we're talking about and he came very close."

Remus looked at her a moment then said quietly. "I think I'm failing to see the problem here. He loves you, you love him, it's a match made in hell – you'll be on familiar ground."

"I can't – if I tell him how I feel he'll get himself killed trying to protect me."

"Katherine, and by the way, I mean this from the heart, get together with him. Please."

Katherine shot him a venomous look. "Very funny."

"What d'you expect?" asked Remus, arching an eyebrow at her and turning as he heard footsteps behind him.

"Remus, do you have any-" Tonks halted and the cheeky expression on her face faded as she recognised the woman standing at the door. "Oh. It's you."

"No need to sound so happy," remarked Katherine, smiling at her with a look in her eyes that Remus knew he'd seen before but couldn't quite place.

"I'm sorry," replied Tonks with the same sarcastic tilt to her voice. "I should of course be delighted to see the most wanted Death Eater in the country who's putting my boyfriend in danger and who I should really be arresting."

"Why don't you then?" challenged Katherine, half grinning.

"Because people I trust keep telling me how nice you are," answered Tonks, looking slightly dubious. "I'm trying to find out if it's true. I can't do that with you in Azkaban, can I?"

"Who's been saying I'm nice?" asked Katherine, looking hurt.

"My mother, Remus, Faye-"

"Faye doesn't know me, so you can ignore her account."

Tonks looked surprised, glancing uncertainly at Remus. "But she's your cousin-"

"I've met her five times."

"What?"

"Five times. We've probably spent less than week in each other's company in the entirety of our thirty nine years of existence."

"Is she being serious?" Tonks asked Remus, who was frowning in thought.

"I think..." he paused, and glanced at Katherine. "I know three. Faye hasn't mentioned the other two. What did you do?"

"Me? Why do I have to be the one to do anything?"

"Because it's you."

"Faye doesn't have to tell you everything about herself."

Remus smiled, gazing at her with a look that told her he could see right through her. "No, and I have no doubt there's many things I don't know about her, but she would have told me if she'd met you because she keeps trying to work you out and she thinks I can help."

"You've worked me out?"

"No, but she thinks I have. And I think I'm probably right in saying that out of everyone, I understand you best. Even if understanding is sometimes just accepting a fact, rather than following your logic, because frankly I don't think even you know what you're doing half the time."

Katherine smiled at him. "I know exactly what I'm doing."

Remus made a dubious noise but didn't comment. "Why did you ask Faye not to tell me she'd seen you?"

Katherine looked at him for a long moment, then shrugged and said nonchalantly. "You would have worried."

A flicker of concern crossed Remus' face and he frowned. "Exactly how bad was it?"

"I'm fine, Remus."

"I don't worry about you, Katherine; you are more than capable of taking care of yourself as you have proved countless times in the past, so if you thought I'd be concerned, you must have been hurt rather badly."

"Who said I was hurt?"

"You did," said Remus softly.

"No I didn't."

"You said you were fine – if it had been something to do with your father, you would have said 'it's fine'." Katherine narrowed her eyes, looking irritated and Tonks put her hand on Remus' arm, wondering whether she should try and pacify the situation and then wondering if she was brave enough to interrupt, but Remus only sighed, his gaze not wavering from Katherine's and said calmly: "Glaring at me isn't going to change the fact that you slipped up."

"Look, I'm ok, right. Nine lives, remember."

"Down to six now," replied Remus, frowning.

"Six?" asked Katherine, looking confused.

"Seventh year, Azkaban and this mysterious ailment. Five if you count our last little adventure."

"Six," said Katherine, grinning wickedly. "I would have found some way to escape if dad had actually arrived. Your plan was much better though."

"It wasn't mine, it was Avery's."

"He couldn't have done it without you. Or you for that matter," she added, looking at Tonks.

"Me?"

"Well Rob won't go within a mile of Alastor if he can help it and I can't see Remus finding an excuse to go round and make small talk with him, and you must have got his hair or something somehow, because the Polyjuice wouldn't have worked without it." She smiled, gazing interestedly at Tonks. "As far as I know, you're the only other one who was in on the plan so you would seem like the obvious candidate. I would say thank you but I have a feeling you'd say you were only doing it for Harry. Or Remus, of course." She glanced at Remus and caught the expression on his face. "What?"

"Am I missing something here?" he asked slowly, looking from Katherine to Tonks and back again. "Only you two haven't spoken more than ten words to each other before and now you're... You-" he began again, pointing accusingly at Katherine, "-used to be like this with James. What's going on?"

"I'm not arguing with her," frowned Katherine.

"Precisely."

"But that's how I was with James."

"Not towards the end; you were only teasing each other in the end. You stopped arguing properly a little while after you got engaged to Sirius – everyone noticed but no one pointed it out because they were afraid to jinx it, but you'd both changed. I never asked what happened to do that, but now-" He glanced at Tonks, wondering if he'd get any answers from her, but she was looking supremely innocent which meant she was not going to tell him a thing. "-now the same thing's happened between you two. So what am I missing? And don't say nothing."

"Remus?"

"Yes."

"Are you going to help me drink this absinthe or not?" Remus glared at her.

"That's not an answer."

"I'm perfectly aware of that fact, but seriously, I may well go blind if I have this entire bottle to myself," said Katherine calmly, gazing at him serenely.

"It's a little early to be drinking, isn't it?" he asked tiredly. Katherine glanced at her watch.

"Ten past twelve? It's not that early."

"Katherine, I haven't even had lunch yet."

Katherine sighed melodramatically and fixed her expressive blue eyes on him. "Will you help if I come back tonight? Please?"

"Will you leave me in peace if I say yes?" Remus asked her, knowing that she knew he was giving in, and not caring.

"Of course."

"Then yes." Katherine grinned.

"Excellent. See you at ten, then." And she disappeared into thin air. Tonks glanced uncertainly at Remus.

"Is she always like that?"

Remus gazed at the spot where his friend had been a moment before, then sighed and shut the door. "Pretty much."

x – X – x

At seven minutes past ten, Archimedes landed outside Remus' kitchen window and tapped on the glass. Remus opened it and took the scrap of rolled up paper from his claws. It was a flyer for some muggle club in London, and for a moment he wondered if Katherine wanted to meet him there, but then he turned it over and saw the familiar handwriting on the back.

_**Something came up.**_

He frowned; it wasn't like Katherine to cancel on him. He wondered what the something was; it must be incredibly important if she was prepared to miss an evening of absinthe for it.

A noise in the lounge made him look up from the note and he closed the window and walked in. Tonks stood by the fireplace, brushing soot off her cloak.

"Hi," he said, a little uncertainly. She smiled.

"A little birdie told me you'd been stood up."

"Did it now?" asked Remus, grinning despite himself. That was one thing Katherine had going for her at least: she always had a back up plan. Tonks smiled and pulled a bottle out of her bag, putting on a mock serious face.

"Now, exactly how do you drink this?"

x – X – x

At eleven minutes past ten, Robert Avery looked up from his paperwork and met the gaze of two jewel bright eyes.

"Katherine? I didn't hear you come in – what? Why are you grinning like that?" he frowned, leaning back and studying his friend with light brown eyes. Katherine sat down in the chair opposite him and placed her folded arms on the desk, grinning like the Cheshire cat.

"I've found one."


	36. The light at the end of the tunnel

**Chapter 35 – The light at the end of the tunnel...**

"Are you sure about this?" asked Harry, peering into the tunnel that stretched away in front of him. A few meters in it faded to complete darkness and even the torches they'd brought with them didn't provide much in the way of illumination.

He looked up at the raven haired woman beside him, who was twisting a long loop of thick black thread between her fingers in the manner of a one person version of cat's cradle. Blue eyes flicked up to his face and soft lips curled into a smile.

"Don't you watch the news? 'Course I'm sure."

He frowned and looked at Hermione, who shrugged and said: "She's got a point. If the horcruxes corrupt things...well, I can't think of anything else in London that stands out more."

"How about the Houses of Parliament?" asked Robert Avery with a distracted look on his face. "I'm sure I read something about civil unrest in that paper you keep reading." This last comment was directed at Katherine, who sighed heavily.

"Governments are perfectly capable of corrupting themselves without any help from a fraction of Tom's soul, Robert. Just look at our Ministry."

"Yes, but I still don't see why-" Robert began, and this time Katherine pulled one hand out the tangle of twine she was twisting around her fingers and gave him a weary look.

"That's because you've never used London Underground in rush hour. If you had, you'd understand."

"Look, the fact that public transport in London is a bit iffy-" he held up a hand to stem Katherine's protests and continued doggedly "-does not mean that Voldemort planted a horcrux in it."

Katherine shook her head and shared an exasperated look with Hermione. "Firstly, it's not public transport that's the problem – the buses are fine, it's the trains that are a shambles. The highest fares in Europe and quite probably the worst service – delays, break downs, strikes, the wrong kind of snow, commuters packed into carriages like sardines with no air conditioning for hours – seriously, Robert. 'Iffy' doesn't quite cover it. There's got to be something else behind it – it can't just be the product of human incompetence – no one's _that_ stupid."

Robert gazed at her, unimpressed, as she continued in a voice that clearly implied she thought they were wasting time. "Secondly, Tom spent a large majority of his life here in London – first at the Orphanage and then again after Hogwarts when he worked in Knockturn Alley. At the time he was making the horcruxes, this city would have been an important part of his life – he was born here, he got his magical awakening here and he would have used the trains to get to Kings Cross – his route to Hogwarts – probably the only place he's ever been happy. London is very important – the trains especially so."

"Well that's all well and good but you're missing one very important factor here, Katherine," said Robert, leaning against the grimy brick wall of the tube line, and looking dubiously at his old friend.

"Yes?"

"The reason he liked Hogwarts so much was because he was miserable here – he _hated_ London."

To his eternal bemusement, Katherine grinned.

"All the more reason to corrupt the trains. Think about it – making people's lives hell for a couple of hours every day of the working week for their entire working life – that's clever. He can't be out slaughtering muggles all the time, but this-" She gestured around the darkened station, that one movement of her arm encompassing the gloomy, enclosed platform and the dirt that permeated everything, product of a thousand peoples' sweat and frustration from the past century, ingrained into the very essence of structure. "-this is genius. He's killing thousands – a tiny bit at a time.

"Besides," she added, shrugging a little and assuming a lighter tone of voice. "Hate is basically the same as love when you get right down to it. It's indifference that's the worst – that hurts most, because it means that you don't care – that you don't even notice. At least if you hate someone you're recognising that they exist."

"Somehow I don't think the muggles would object to him being indifferent," remarked Robert, shaking his head. "Something tells me they'd prefer it."

"Of course they would," agreed Katherine. "But the fact is that he does care what happens to them because he hates them, and that means he wants to harm them, which means-"

"-he's put a horcrux under London," finished Hermione, firmly. "Because if he lived here most of his life then muggle Londoners are the ones he has most reason to hate because they're the ones he knows." She smiled faintly at Katherine. "The rest of them he hates on principle but is pretty much indifferent to."

Katherine grinned, dark eyes showing admiration. "Smart girl. I knew there was a reason I liked you." She looked over at Robert, eyebrows raised. "Convinced yet?"

"No," he said softly. "Because like I said back at the house, why here? London, ok – trains, maybe - but why here? Why not Kings Cross?"

"Because horcruxes radiate dark power and Dumbledore would have noticed it. Besides, he doesn't want to harm Hogwarts or Slytherin students. Where would his recruits come from?" shrugged Katherine, unperturbed.

"And the diary was his link to the school in terms of location," said Harry quietly. "It was the key to opening the Chamber of Secrets and unleashing Slytherin's monster on the muggleborns. The locket marked where he first terrorised his muggle companions. There's definitely a connection with making people suffer."

"But why _Ihere/I_? Why this station? It's not even the nearest to his orphanage."

"No, but it's got the highest suicide rate of the entire network, so I thought it might be a good starting point," said Katherine without a trace of insincerity, resuming her methodical weaving of the black thread between her hands. Harry saw Hermione blanche and look uneasily around her, clutching at Ron's arm, and gaze the metal tracks on which she stood as though expecting to see some trace of the lives lost here.

He looked down at the tracks too, and then at the rubber soled shoes Katherine had insisted they wear. She's assured them the electricity would be switched off at night for track maintenance, but he was still wary of the two live lines that ran parallel to the metal coasters the trains travelled along.

The dark hole that was the mouth to the tube gaped menacingly in front of him, a black abyss that beckoned like Pandora's box, drawing him in.

"Dumbledore had a scar on his left knee that was a map of the London Underground," he said suddenly, surprising even himself. Katherine paused in the middle of pulling a section of black thread through a diamond shaped hole she'd managed to create with the loop of string to look strangely at him, a bewildered expression on her face and Hermione gave a half laugh, glad of something to distract her from the oppressive knowledge that people had died on these tracks.

Ron just stared at him and asked carefully: "How do you know that?"

"Sirius told me," answered Harry, tearing his gaze away from the mocking darkness. "He said he thought he was joking but Lupin heard him, and said it was true." He looked back at Katherine who was considering him critically. She gave a small smile and shrugged.

"Probably was. Surprised that fact didn't make it onto the Chocolate Frogs cards, though."

"Do you think Voldemort knows?"

"He might do," said Katherine, appearing to think about it. "That kind of thing would be right up his street – Dumbledore's a got a map to his horcrux on knee and he still can't find it. It'd make him feel he'd got one over on his old teacher."

"Now that," said Robert deliberately, disengaging himself from the wall he'd been leaning against and smiling lazily, "Is a reason."

Katherine cast him a look that was somewhere between exasperation and scorn. "_Now_ you think it's a good place to find a horcrux? I give you plenty of perfectly grounded reasons for Tom hiding a horcrux here, and only now that you find out Dumbledore had a weird scar do you think I might be right?"

Robert smiled enigmatically. "Everything you said made perfect sense, but nothing about your reasons marked this out as special. The Dark Lord's hatred for muggles is powerful but generic – his desire to get one up on Dumbledore, on the other hand - that is something I can believe in."

Katherine gazed at him for a while, aristocratic face studiously blank, then she rolled her eyes, making a few final deft movements with her fingers, and grinning with satisfaction. She caught Harry's confused frown and winked, disentangling her hands from the knotted mass of black thread and pocketing it.

"Well?"

Harry's gaze switched from Katherine to Robert at the sound of the man's voice. What on earth did he mean by that? Katherine nodded towards the tunnel to Harry's right.

"Down there. About half a mile along. Not sure which side, but there's definitely some sort of dark magic down there." She dug two torches out of the bag that was slung over her shoulder and threw one to Robert who stared at it, looking a little lost. "Press the button on the top," said Katherine softly, shaking her head slightly. Robert threw her an irked look and did so, directing the powerful beam into the dark of the tunnel.

"Come on, then," said Katherine, looking over her shoulder at the trio. "Only three hours before the next train comes along and I don't know how long it's going to take us to find the entrance."

Reluctantly, the three teenagers switched their torches on and trudged after the two retreating figures. Harry glanced at his watch in the dim light before the tunnel and saw she was right – it was gone 2 am already.

There was silence in the tunnel save for the sound of dully echoing footsteps and Harry took the opportunity to try and sort through the last few hectic hours in his head. He'd been upstairs with Ron when the note had arrived, the paper she'd given him glowing gold to get his attention.

_**Meet us at Kings Cross in half an hour.**_

_**Wear rubber soled shoes.**_

When he'd asked why, her answer had simply been:

_**We've found one.**_

He had the feeling she'd thought it was obvious.

She'd explained at Kings Cross, handing them all orange rimmed tickets and they'd followed her onto the last train, hoping she knew what she was doing. When he'd asked her why she was so keen to find it tonight she just shrugged and asked 'why not?'. He pointed out that they could have had a good nights sleep and prepared and she'd smiled slyly and asked whether he would have been able to sleep knowing what might face them the following day.

"Besides, how were you intending to prepare?" she'd added, drawing long black hair into a pony tail as the train slowed down approaching the next station. "If it's skill you want, me and Rob have it in buckets. You don't have to worry on that score."

He was well aware of that fact, thought Harry as he cast the beam of light from the torch over the curved stone wall. He just wasn't entirely sure she intended to use it to help him. He wasn't planning on telling her that, though; she seemed to approve of him distrusting her – another example of her seemingly fragile grasp on sanity, because for all her intelligence and beauty and fierce loyalty, she _was_ mad, bordering on insane, and he kept wondering why no one else seemed to notice.

Maybe she'd been like that before Azkaban, he mused, or maybe they just mistook the look in those inimitable eyes for something else.

Or maybe, he thought, looking at the indistinct figures ahead of him, they knew and just didn't mention it. For some reason, this theory seemed to fit best with the way people acted around her, but he could for the life of him work out why. If Ron or Hermione had ever looked at him with eyes like hers he'd have been seriously worried, but even Remus didn't seem anxious about her state of mind.

The figures ahead of him had stopped, and as the trio drew nearer, Ron and Hermione talking in low voices, he saw them examining a stretch of wall intently.

"Here?" asked Robert in a low voice and Harry saw her run her hands over the wall and nod.

"You can feel magic?" asked Hermione, watching her intently. Katherine grinned, and fished the black loop of string out of her pocket again.

"What is that?" asked Harry, frowning deeply. He'd never seen anyone else use anything like that at Hogwarts.

"This?" asked Katherine, holding up the loop. "This is black twine, Potter. From the kitchen drawer." She hooked the string over her fingers and pulled it into a pattern, examining it with narrowed eyes.

"You're using twine to try and find a horcrux?"

"Well it was a little short notice to find any dragon heartstrings," murmured Katherine, in a voice that made Harry think she was being sarcastic. He frowned again and looked at his friends who were standing just behind him.

"It does work," whispered Hermione softly. "It's a form of scrying – using thread to locate magic, but humans don't usually use it."

"Why? Is it unreliable?" he asked, glancing back at Katherine and starting to doubt that she had been joking.

"No, it's hard," answered Hermione. "Centaurs do it sometimes when stargazing fails, but it's really difficult to see the patterns. It's supposed to take years of practice to even be able to see the obvious ones and if this is dark magic, it's going to be very complicated."

"Yeah well, she's had years, hasn't she?" put in Ron, surveying Katherine dubiously. "She was in Azkaban for over ten years – that's plenty of time to learn something."

"Don't be silly, Ron, she wouldn't have been able to learn in there, would she? Her cell was bricked up and everyone thought she was dead. How on earth is she supposed to have learnt anything in there?"

Ron conceded this point but Harry said softly: "Yeah, that's another thing that doesn't fit."

"Another thing?"

"She's mental," Harry pointed out. "You can see that, can't you?"

"Well yeah, but it's not the kind of crazy that harms anyone but her," said Ron and Harry stared at him, considering this insight. Ron went red and shrugged self consciously under the gazes of his friends. "Well it's not, is it? She's just kind of balanced on the line between sanity and lunacy but I think it'd take something huge to push her over it."

And that, thought Harry, was what he'd missed. That was reason no one said anything – they did know, of course they knew, they couldn't miss it, but they kept quiet because however thin the line she was treading, Katherine wouldn't fall off – she wouldn't let herself and her friends knew that. Which rather begged the question of how.

"What was it that didn't fit?" asked Hermione, bringing Harry out of his musings. He looked at her for a moment, trying to reassemble his thoughts then said:

"I can't see her sitting in a cell doing nothing for a decade. Can you?"

Hermione didn't get the chance to reply however, because at that moment a light flared behind them, shedding eerie purple light over the five figures and illuminating the tunnel. They turned to see what had caused it and Harry heard Hermione's sharp intake of breath as she laid eyes on the twisting line of violet that writhed above Katherine's hands.

"What _is_ that?" she breathed, clutching Ron's arm unconsciously.

"The spell that's keeping this door shut," muttered Katherine, eyes narrowed to slits against the bright light emanating from the spell.

"But it's alive," said Ron uneasily. "Spells aren't-"

"No?" asked Katherine, casting a sideways glance at him. "Why'd you think they fade over time, then? They don't just disappear, they die."

"But-"

"But what? But you wouldn't have used them if you'd known? I said they were alive, Granger, I never said they could think. They're not sentient, they're just – there. Like a tree. You know it's a living organism but you don't have any qualms about chopping it into firewood."

"But you can't kill spells," said Ron quietly, frowning at Katherine.

"So this is just a figment of my imagination is it?" asked Katherine, jerking her hands apart and ripping the writhing line into fragments that seemed to go supernova and then wink out. "Nice illusion," she muttered in the darkness as Robert fumbled for his torch and switched it back on.

"Can we get in now?" he asked, peering dubiously at the nondescript wall, blackened by dirt and grime.

"Mmm," murmured Katherine, placing a hand on the wall, her forehead creasing in a frown. "Hope so."

Harry edged closer to her and cast a weary eye over the brickwork. She glanced at him, and he looked back at her defiantly.

"How can you tell it's there? Apart from that spell, I mean," he asked, curious despite himself. Dumbledore had managed to find that chain for the boat without being able to see it and he presumed Katherine was using similar skills here. Blue eyes studied him critically for a moment, then she grabbed his wrist and held his hand against the wall.

"Do you feel that?"

"A kind of thrumming?" he asked, feeling the bricks tremor beneath his fingers.

"Yes."

"That's magic?" he asked, glancing up at her.

"That's the reason the entrance is here," she replied, releasing his wrist and pulling out her wand with a look of deepest concentration on her face.

"So magic gives out vibrations, or something, does it?"

"No."

He frowned, letting his hand drop from the wall and looked at her in confusion. "But the bricks are trembling."

"It's not magic," said Katherine dully.

"And it's not just the bricks," said a small voice behind him. He glanced around to see Hermione, looking pale and worried in the torchlight. "I really think we ought to be getting in there now."

"Why?" asked Harry, though he thought he already knew. He could feel the ground beneath his feet shuddering even as he spoke and the constant air currents along the tracks seemed to have picked up speed. He looked in alarm at Katherine. "I thought you said trains didn't run at night."

"I said nothing of the sort. There are always maintenance trains in the shut down hours – when else are they going to repair the tracks?"

"But the power's not on," said Ron desperately as Katherine cast a few idle shapes with her wand, leaving small trails of light in the darkness. "Dad said trains can't run without electricity."

"They're battery powered – go about half the speed of the normal ones," Katherine murmured, flicking her wand with a decisive stroke and examining her handiwork. Harry had barely spared a glance for the glowing lines but now they were hard to ignore. The ancient letters flared gold and exploded, leaving afterimages on his eyes and a dark shadow on the wall behind them.

No, not a shadow – darkness.

Darkness where a wall should be.

He stood still before the mouth of a tunnel into the unknown and wondered how on earth he had expected to be able to hunt down horcruxes on his own.

"Impressive," muttered Robert and Harry saw Katherine grin and roll her eyes, having caught the sarcastic inflection in her friend's voice.

"Is it safe?" asked Hermione, looking nervously at the dark entrance, but no one had a chance to answer because at that moment the gloom to their right suddenly grew a lot lighter very quickly and the distant rumbling that had been growing steadily louder for the past thirty seconds burst upon their ears as the late night maintenance train rounded the bend in the track and bore down on them.

**x - X - x**

Reviews and impatient yells welcome. :)


	37. Darkness and light

**A/N:** Hmm, since I get this big a response from one little cliffie, I think I shall give you another one. Hope this update is quick enough for you and thanks for all the reviews - they're very much appreciated. Enjoy.

**x - X - x**

**Chapter 36 – Darkness and light**

Harry blinked.

Then he blinked again.

The darkness remained.

Slowly, feeling his way with his hand, he sat up and managed to locate his wand. He lit it and scanned the area around him cautiously, afraid of what he'd find. The last thing he remembered was someone grabbing him by the collar and hurling him into the arch of darkness, and then he was falling and then...and then?

The light from his wand found a leg, clothed in dark jeans. Who had been wearing jeans?

He scrambled over and the light illuminated jet black hair falling over a white face. He nudged Katherine and she raised a hand to shield her eyes from the light.

"Are you ok?" he asked, lowering his wand.

"I think I've dislocated my shoulder."

"Oh."

"You're going to have to put it back."

"What?" he stared at her and she sat up, wincing. "I can't do that."

"Well there isn't anyone else around, so you're going to have to."

"Can't we find the oth-"

"Harry, this _really_ hurts." Harry looked at her for a moment, then nodded, swallowing hard.

"Ok. What do I have to do?"

"Pull my arm; it should just sort of, pop back into place."

"Are you sure?"

"No, but exactly how many physiotherapists do you expect to find down here? Just try it. Please?"

"Which arm?"

"Left."

Harry put down his wand and did as she instructed, trying to not grimace as he felt the joint slid back into position. Katherine let out a deep breath and Harry heard her fall back onto the floor. He reached for his wand again and lit it in the darkness.

"Ok now?" he asked quietly. She nodded, eyes closed.

"Yes. Thanks."

"Can you move it?" She wiggled her fingers gingerly.

"A bit. Probably needs strapping up. Have you seen the others?"

"No. We did all make it, didn't we?" One blue eye opened and looked up at him solemnly.

"Must have."

"Must?"

"Robert's got a five year old daughter and I can't go telling Cass I've got her husband killed. She'd never forgive me. Don't much fancy seeing Remus' face if Weasley or Granger snuffed it, either." She grimaced, sitting up slowly, feeling her left shoulder tentatively. "So yes, they must be alive. They can't not be."

"Right. Just a matter of finding them, then." He scanned the surrounding area with his wand and found they were in some sort of stone tunnel, carved out of the rock. The tunnel seemed to start where they were sitting and stretched away in front of them beyond the reach of wandlight. He wondered how they got there – he certainly recalled dropping quite a long way yet there was no hole above them that they could have fallen through.

"It sealed itself." He looked around to see Katherine watching him.

"Can we get back out?"

"Not this way." She stood and reached above their heads with her good arm, tracing her fingertips lightly over the rock. "One way ticket, I'm afraid." She glanced at him, apparently trying to decide something, and then nodded her head upwards. "Put your hand up."

"There's magic there?" he asked, with more than a little scepticism in his voice. She tilted her head to one side, thinking about it.

"Not exactly. Magic residue. That's what it is. Feel." He reached up uncertainly, touching the cold rock, but she shook her head. "Not the rock, just below it." He looked dubiously at her but lowered his hand slightly, fingers hovering a few millimeters away from the low ceiling of the tunnel.

"I don't-" And then he felt it. A peculiar sensation, like a million tiny strands of smoke brushing against his fingertips. "That's magic?" He half smiled at her expression. "Sorry, magic residue."

"What do you think?"

"I think you're going to say it's air currents, and it means we're about to get burnt to a crisp by a magma flare or something," he said, letting his hand fall to his side and looking challengingly at her. Katherine laughed, eyes glinting wickedly.

"Sorry to disappoint you, Potter, but there isn't much magma under London – not at this depth, anyway."

"So it is magic residue?"

"Yes. It's fading, but judging by the rate of decay, we haven't been down here long. Not if it sealed up right after we arrived, anyway."

"You could have just checked your watch to find that out," said Harry, peering at his own one.

"I broke it when I landed," answered Katherine, peering into the deep darkness that lay ahead of them. "I wonder why it split us up," she added, almost to herself.

Harry glanced at her, realising she'd changed the topic then looked back at his own watch, leaving her to her musings. Then he frowned, tapping it uncertainly.

"It's stopped."

Katherine looked round at him, then bent down and felt on the floor for her satchel.

"I don't think it's just your watch. No muggle technology seems to be working down here; no doubt that's deliberate."

Harry looked at the dead torch in her hand without really seeing it, his brain still catching up with the last thing she'd said.

"What split us up?" he asked abruptly, looking expectantly at her.

"The gateway," she answered, lifting the bag gently onto her right shoulder and pulling out her own wand. "Must have. I was holding onto your two friends when I went through, then they got pulled away from me, and the next thing I know, you're shining a light in my face and my shoulder's hurting like the blazes."

"Pulled away?"

"Yeah, different directions too. That's not good." She sighed heavily and glanced back at him. "Come on then. Can't go back, so the only option is forward."

"Why would it spilt us up?" asked Harry, falling into step beside her.

"Don't know. More importantly, why keep us two together? What have we got in common that the others haven't?" She waved her wand in a complicated shape and a softly glowing golden orb flew from it's tip to hang in the air before them, lighting the way. Harry put his own light out and tightened the hold on his wand; if something was waiting for them he was going to be ready for it.

"Orphans?" he ventured, in answer to her question.

"But I'm not an orphan, not really," she said slowly. "If that was it, you'd have woken up with Robert beside you, not me. Might be something to do with family, though. I mean, there's only so many ways you can divide people with spells."

"But we're not related," objected Harry, giving her an odd look.

"Not through blood, but you can speak Parseltongue, Harry, and you shouldn't have been able to feel that magic, not at your age, not without practice."

"What are you getting at?" asked Harry, starting to feel slightly uncomfortable. Katherine glanced sideways at him.

"No Gryffindor has ever been able to commune with snakes before. That's a Slytherin trait – not because it's evil, it's not, but because Salazar was a Parselmouth. It's his descendants that can speak it, and you are not his descendant, believe me. There are only two known descendants of Slytherin left on earth and I'm one of them. I'd know if you were."

"You think my link with Voldemort made it put me with you?" he asked, looking resolutely up at her.

"I never said you were linked, just that-" She paused, turning her head to consider him through slightly narrowed eyes. "_You_ said link. Why did you say link?"

"No one told you?"

"Told me what?"

Harry looked at her for a moment, then, with a certain amount of hesitation, explained about the dreams he'd had over the past few years and about his scar hurting whenever Voldemort was having particularly strong emotions. When he had finished, Katherine was quiet, a thoughtful look on her face.

"You really didn't know?" he asked curiously; she seemed to practically be an expert on everything else.

"Was that why Severus taught you Occlumency? To keep Tom out of your head?" she asked slowly.

"How do you know about that?" asked Harry, face darkening in an instant. If she'd been consorting with Snape...

"Just something Bella said when I was posing as you," replied Katherine, appearing not to notice his changed countenance. "Said that Snape had told her you weren't very good at it."

"Why would she say that?"

"Because she tried to use Legilimens on me and I happen to be very good at it," said Katherine, a hint of a smirk tugging at her lips.

"What happened?"

"She got thrown across the room," replied Katherine, grinning at him. "So she probably won't be trying that one again in a hurry."

"I never did ask," he said quietly. "Why did you do that?"

"Take your place?" she asked, and he nodded. "Because Remus asked me to."

"Do you do everything he asks you?"

"Not everything."

"Most things?"

"Yes, most things." She half smiled to herself. "Most of the time."

He was about to ask what exactly she meant by this when the walls of the tunnel suddenly fell away and revealed a large chamber before them. Cautiously, they stepped out into it and Katherine flicked her wand at the orb that had lit their way so that it disappeared. One look ahead of them told him why.

"What _is_ that?" he asked in an awed voice.

"Not entirely sure."

He exhaled slowly, looking up at the seething mass of white gold light that twisted up in front of them.

"Just how big d'you think this place is?"

Katherine tore her gaze away from the pillar of churning light and cast an eye around the chamber.

"About the size of St Paul's Cathedral? Bit bigger, maybe?"

"And all this is under London?"

"So it would appear. Might be under St Paul's, come to think of it."

"Or the Houses of Parliament?" he asked nonchalantly. Katherine glanced sideways at him, trying not to grin and failing.

"Or the Houses of Parliament," she agreed.

"Katherine!"

Katherine and Harry turned towards the voice and saw two figures in the distance, illuminated by the ethereal light.

"See, told you they weren't dead," she smiled, starting to walk towards them.

"I can't see Hermione," said Harry, frowning.

"No, but they were pulled in different directions, like I said," murmured Katherine thoughtfully. "I wonder..."

"What?"

"Well he used blood last time, didn't he? That's what you said? Blood to open the door?"

"Yes."

"So maybe he used it again this time – to split us up. The Avery's are as about as pure blooded as you can get and Weasleys are notorious for being blood traitors, so if they were together..."

"And we're both half bloods," Harry realised.

"Just about," agreed Katherine. "Not pure, anyway."

"But Hermione's muggleborn," said Harry suddenly. "She'd be left on her own."

"Looks like it."

"We have to find her!"

Katherine nodded as Ron and Robert reached them.

"Have you seen Hermione?" asked Ron, an anxious look on his face.

"No, but don't worry; we'll find her," answered Harry as Ron ran a hand frantically through his red hair. "What happened to you, anyway?" he added, casting an eye over his friend's dishevelled appearance; his clothes were torn and there were scratches covering his face and lower arms.

"Met a couple of Manes," muttered Robert, looking sagely at Katherine. "You don't look any the worse for wear, though."

"Nothing attacked us," replied Katherine, giving a one shouldered shrug. "Hurt my shoulder when I fell though."

Robert frowned and raised an eyebrow when she pulled her shirt across so they could see the swelling.

"It's not healing?" he asked in a concerned tone.

"It's not a direct blood injury," said Katherine. "Only cuts and poison heal quickly."

"Damn," sighed Robert. "You got a sling in that bag of yours?"

"Probably." Robert took the bag and rummaged through it till he found one, then helped her put it on.

"Where'd you think Hermione is?" asked Ron, watching Robert distractedly.

"There must be another entrance somewhere," replied Robert. "If we came through one, and you two came through another one-" he was cut off by the sound of screaming.

"Hermione!"

"No, wait!" Katherine yelled, but it was too late; Harry and Ron were already running across the cavern towards the source of the noise. Robert sighed, tying the sling firmly in place.

"Think you can run with one arm? Not going to be too unbalanced?" he asked, giving her a half amused look.

"I'm always unbalanced, Rob," she smiled back, turning to follow the boys. "I thought you knew that already." Robert grinned and ran after her, only slowing when he saw what had made Hermione scream.

"Inferi," he whispered, more out of shock than fear.

"Makes sense," replied Katherine, drawing her wand. "Nothing for me and Harry, because Tom's half blood and he doesn't want to be assaulted if he comes to check on his horcruxes, Manes for you, because at least you're pure blood, and Inferi for muggleborns, because they don't belong here."

"Do they know how much danger she's in?" Katherine looked sideways at him, a pensive expression on her face.

"From who?"

"That's not fair, Katherine."

"No? You didn't join for the social aspect, Rob," she replied softly as Harry turned his head to look at them.

"Fire's not working!"

"Maybe it's not hot enough," answered Katherine, catching sight of the brown haired girl at last; she was backed into a corner, Inferi advancing slowly.

"_Do something_," yelled Ron, trying to hex the nearest figures to no avail.

"Would _fornax_ be strong enough, d'you think?" asked Robert, advancing on the assembly of living dead. "Katherine?" He glanced round and saw her standing where they'd stopped, not moving. "Katherine, what are you doing?"

Blue eyes flickered vaguely over to his face, and then she turned away, arms wrapped protectively around herself. Behind him, Hermione screamed again and he felt a hand tug at his arm. He looked around into Ron's desperate eyes and suddenly figured out what Katherine had noticed the first time she'd seen Harry's friends together.

Putting Katherine's odd behaviour out of his head for the moment, he shot a stream of white hot fire into the middle of the crowd, which shrank back instantly, flinching away from the heat and light. Ron ran forward and grabbed Hermione by the hand, pulling her towards the others, and Robert cast a quick shield charm to prevent the Inferi reaching them.

"Thanks," said Harry quietly by his side. Robert looked down at him, almost surprised.

"That's ok."

"What's up with her?" asked Ron softly, resting his chin gently on Hermione's head as she hung onto him, trembling slightly. Robert followed his gaze and saw Katherine hunched on the floor, head resting in her hands. He frowned, and called out to her but got no response. He sighed and walked over to her, crouching down before her on the ground and surveying her critically.

"What just happened there?" he asked, frowning slightly; she didn't usually freeze in the face of danger. "Katherine? Come on, say something, you're starting to scare me."

And then she raised her head and looked at him with eyes like black holes and suddenly he suddenly realised just how much trouble they were in.


	38. Breaking point

**A/N: **Sorry I didn't post this sooner. I fully intended to but exams are making me stressed and that means I forget things. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter, cause believe me, things are going to get worse...

x – X – x

**Chapter 37 – Breaking point**

Harry glanced at Ron, who looked just as nonplussed as him. Cautiously, he walked over to where Robert was.

"Is she ok?" Robert looked up at him, brown eyes betraying his fear.

"No."

"What's wrong with her?"

"I don't know." He ran a shaky hand through short blond hair and swallowed hard. "We've got to get her out of here."

"But the entrance sealed up behind us," said Harry, casting an eye around the dark chamber. "And we haven't seen any other exit."

"Well we're going to have to find one," said Robert quietly, reaching out a gentle hand and brushing the hair away from Katherine's face. "Katherine? Can you hear me? We're going to get you out, ok? Don't you go giving up on me, all right?"

"Uh, Robert?" Robert looked up, scowling at Hermione.

"What?" Hermione gestured nervously towards the Inferi and he swore; the shield charm was fading and the group was advancing. "You three get back," he ordered, pulling out his wand and glancing anxiously at Katherine, still huddled on the floor. He needed to get her out_ now_ and find Remus or Severus or someone who could get through to her before she withdrew completely, because if that happened...well, he remembered only too well what she was like last time and he still didn't know how she'd snapped out of it then..

He got to his feet and faced the crowd of Inferi, trying to work out how many of them there were; twenty at least, he guessed. There wasn't any more time to waste, however, because they were getting nearer and Katherine wasn't in any state to move, so he drew back his wand, ready to fight, but just as he did so, someone blocked his path.

He looked into eyes as dark as midnight and fought the urge to take step back. She had her wand pointed at his heart.

"Katherine?"

"Put your wand away."

"Kat-"

"Do it. Now."

"But-" he faltered under the gaze of those eyes but didn't lower his wand. "Katherine listen to me, we're going to get you out of here but we need to destroy them first."

"If you don't put your wand away within the next five seconds I will make you do it, and you really don't want that."

"Katherine-"

"Three seconds."

"Fine, you want to kill me, then do it," he challenged, glaring at her. "I'd rather be killed by you than by them."

"They won't kill you," said Katherine evenly, in that same dead voice. "Not if you run."

"Run? Run where? There's nowhere to go and they'll keep coming after us – they don't give up. We've got to get rid of them now."

"No."

"Why not? What the hell's wrong with you?" he yelled, gaze flicking nervously to the group who were only a few feet away now.

"You so much as lay a finger on them and I'll kill you."

"Katherine, they're already dead, what does it matter what happens to them?" he pleaded, edging away as the nearest Inferi reached out a shriveled hand towards them.

"No," whispered Katherine softly, and he thought he saw tears glistening in her dark eyes, "they're not."

"What?"

"They're not dead. Look at their eyes, Robert, they're not dead. He used Inopia and made them Inferi and stuck them down here where no one will ever find them and _they're not dead_." She was crying now, tears running unchecked down her pale face and her next words were said so quietly that he nearly missed them. "And it's my fault."

"No," he said fiercely. "It's not-"

"_I_ made it up," she shouted at him, eyes blazing with fury and hurt and despair. "I told him there were things worse than death and I made it up to prove it and now he's gone and used it against me."

Behind Katherine, the mass of Inferi had stopped, pressed up against an invisible wall and in the light emanating from the white gold pillar behind him, he could see the faint outline of shield charm. He frowned and saw Katherine's eyes dart over his shoulder; curious, he followed her gaze and saw the three teenagers with their wands out, maintaining it. Maybe they weren't so useless after all.

He returned his attention to Katherine, her last words ringing alarm bells in his head.

"Against you?"

Katherine just looked at him, eyes burning with hurt and hatred. He frowned, surveying the ranks of Inferi behind her, trying to search the rotting faces for one he knew, because that was what she meant – she knew one of the undead standing there, clawing at the barrier that prevented them going any further, and if he didn't do something about it soon, she was going to go back to that state of barely controlled insanity that she'd slipped into after becoming a Death Eater and this time he wasn't sure she'd be able to come back.

"We've got to kill them," he said at last, and she shook her head violently.

"No-"

"Yes," he said firmly. "We can't leave them like this, you know that."

"But I can't..." she trailed off, squeezing her eyes shut in an attempt to stem the flow of tears. "I can't," she said softly, shrugging her good shoulder. "Not her."

"I'll do it-"

"No." She shook her head, taking a deep breath. "No." She looked up at him, searching his face earnestly. "Did you mean it? That you'd rather be killed by me?"

"Yes," he replied quietly. "If I had to be killed, I'd rather it was someone I knew. Someone who was doing what had to be done because it was the best thing to do." She smiled sourly at this.

"You sound like Reg."

"Regulus?" he asked, frowning, but she'd already turned away towards the Inferi.

"When I say go, drop the shield charm and run," she said softly, glancing back over her shoulder at the trio. "Understand? Get as far away as you can. You too, Rob."

There was a slight pause, then Harry glanced at Ron and Hermione and nodded. Katherine looked at Robert, who held her gaze for a moment, deliberating.

"Are you sure about this?"

"I don't have very much choice, do I?"

"I told you, I could-"

"She's my mother, Robert. I'm doing it." Robert's eyes widened and he looked again at the ranks of the half dead, trying to discern a female with black hair or blue eyes but finding none. "Adoptive," murmured Katherine, gazing soberly at him.

"Right," he said quietly. "Ok."

Katherine watched him for a moment, then turned around, wand raised.

"Go."

Robert felt the blast of heat from twenty meters away but kept running. The trio were just ahead of him, running flat out towards the other side of the chamber. They didn't stop till the reached the smooth stone and collapsed on the floor, gasping for breath. Robert leant on the wall, almost bent double and tried not to be sick.

"D'you think she's all right?" asked Ron eventually. "I mean, that spell – if we could feel it-"

"She can protect herself," said Robert softly, peeling himself away from the wall and looking at the young boy.

"But did she want to?" asked Hermione quietly, sitting hunched on the floor, knees drawn up to her chin. Robert looked sharply at her, frowning.

"She won't rest till the Dark Lord's gone," he said firmly.

"Is it safe to go back?" asked Harry, standing up shakily and squinting in the direction of the pillar of light.

"What else is there to do?" replied Robert heavily. Slowly, the four of them made their way back in silence. Robert wondered if he'd done the right thing, leaving her to deal with things on her own, but he deep down knew he'd had very little choice. If he'd tried to stay, she would have used Imperius or something to make him leave. She was in that sort of mood.

By the time they'd walked back to where the Inferi had stood, Katherine had gone. Robert looked around but couldn't see her anywhere.

"She's not-?" Hermione trailed off, gesturing helplessly towards the piles of ash littering the ground.

"'Course not," muttered Robert, trying to sound confident. Katherine wouldn't give up like that, she wouldn't. She'd want revenge on her father for what he'd done and that might make her reckless, but she'd make sure she didn't die. He looked towards the central pillar of churning light again, half raising a hand to shield his eyes, and then he saw her. A small dark figure, silhouetted against the glow. Hurriedly, he made his way over to her, slowing as he approached.

She was crouched on the floor, peering closely at the glimmering light. He was about to say something, but she got there before him.

"It's ether." He started, staring at her.

"What?"

"Ether," she looked up at him and his heart sank when he saw the look in her eyes. He had hoped she might have recovered a little with the Inferi gone but if anything she seemed worse; now she was just hiding it better. "It was a concept of Aristotle, the Greek philosopher. You could call it the fifth element." She smiled, ticking them off on her hand, "Fire, water, earth, air and ether. It's how he's protecting his horcruxes." She looked past him as the trio trailed up, looking understandably nervous. "The locket was in the middle of a lake, wasn't it, Harry?"

Harry nodded, glancing uncertainly at her; she smiled brightly.

"Right, so that's water, and Ravenclaw's statue was on a plinth underneath Riddle's tomb, with no way to reach it except by flying – that's air. And Dumbledore found Salazar's ring in the Gaunt's old house, yes?"

"Yeah," agreed Harry. "But he didn't say where it was – just that it was protected."

"So we don't know that one for sure, but I'd be willing to bet rather a large amount that it was buried." Katherine grinned again, and Harry couldn't help but feel there was something wrong about that smile. "So that's earth, yes? Which leaves fire and ether, and this definitely isn't fire."

"But there are six horcruxes to hide," said Hermione nervously. "And there's only five elements."

"Yes, but he was keeping the diary out in the open, right?" said Katherine patiently. "He wanted it where he could see it - that's what I'd do. If I was splitting up my soul and hiding bits all over the place, I'd keep one near me for safe keeping. After all, I don't want someone coming along and destroying all of them without me knowing, do I? I'd want the last one where I could see it, so even if all the others are broken, I'd know I was safe until that one went, and I could prepare – maybe make another one."

"So he's keeping an eye on Nagini, now?" asked Ron, brow creasing into a frown. "Because he knows the diary was destroyed?" Katherine nodded, squinting thoughtfully at the pillar.

"That's why once we've killed her, we've got to go after him straight away so he doesn't have a chance to get ready."

"That also means there's a spare hiding place," said Robert quietly. "There might not be a horcrux, here, Katherine. Not if it was where he planned to keep the snake."

Katherine looked steadily at him for a long moment, then turned back to the pillar without saying anything. He frowned, wondering what she'd do if this trip turned out to be for nothing, then Harry asked quietly:

"What exactly is ether?"

"It's supposed to be what the heavens are made of," answered Katherine softly, sitting back and gazing serenely up at the seething pillar. "It doesn't exist, not really, not as Aristotle thought anyway, but... Well, this is what it would be if it did exist." She smiled faintly. "It's Greek – really should be aether, with an 'a', meaning 'that which is ablaze'."

"How do we get past it?" asked Robert, eyeing it doubtfully.

"Don't know," replied Katherine cheerfully, getting to her feet. "I guess we just walk through it."

"Is that possible?" She looked at him, lips curling into a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"Only one way to find out."

And she stepped through. Robert swore loudly, darting after her and trying to catch her hand but she was through before he'd gone more than a few paces. He looked back at the trio who were looking worriedly at him and sighed heavily wondering what on earth had possessed him to agree to do this.

"There doesn't seem to be any other way out," said Harry quietly, studying the pillar of light critically. "Maybe it's just a test of nerve."

"And maybe it's not," said Robert brusquely. "We don't know anything about ether – I've never come across it and the only person who seemed to have any idea about it is stark raving mad because she's just been forced to kill her own mother."

"So all in all, not one of our better days, huh?" said Ron quietly, after a long pause. Robert looked sharply at him, and he shrugged. "Look, like Harry said, it's not like we've got much choice and so what if we don't know about ether? Katherine said it's not meant to exist so it's not like we could have prepared anyway – there's probably not a lot known about it."

"But there might be something-" began Robert, before he was cut off by Hermione.

"Hogwarts has got one of the best collection of magical books in Europe and I've never seen anything about it there."

"And you've read every book in the library, I suppose?"

"When we found out about the horcruxes I went through all of the restricted section looking for information and we never came across ether when we were researching for Harry's Triwizard Tournament tasks, either." She looked defiantly up at him, face pale but determined. "So yes, together we have read a large majority of the books in there."

"And you said yourself she won't rest till she's destroyed Voldemort," reminded Harry. "She may be mental but she's not stupid."

"Of course she's not stupid, but you don't know what she was like last time," said Robert through gritted teeth. "Intelligence has nothing to do with it. Bellatrix is clever but that doesn't stop her being a raving lunatic and Katherine's...well she's never been all right, not really. She's not..._normal_. Even when she first came to Hogwarts she wasn't right – she was quiet and no one really spoke to her but she didn't _care_.

"She just sort of sat in a corner and did homework or wrote home, and went completely unnoticed by everyone and then in fifth year she suddenly starts going out with Leon Wilkes and _that_ gets everybody's attention and then-" he hesitated, smiling sourly. "You know that phrase – 'it's always the quiet ones you've got to watch out for'? You know why you should watch out? It's because one day they'll turn around and say something and that's when you realise that in all those years you were ignoring them, they were watching _you_." He sighed, running a frantic hand through his blond hair, then stopped abruptly, frowning. "She said I sounded like Regulus. Why did she say I sounded like Regulus?"

The trio stared at him blankly, and he wondered vaguely whether he wasn't going a little insane himself, changing topic so suddenly, but it seemed important. What had he been saying when she'd said that? Something about Inferi, wasn't it? He hadn't really been paying attention to his words at the time – he was just saying anything and everything to try and get her to stop pointing her wand at his chest.

"You could ask her," said Hermione gently. "But we'd have to follow her to do that."

Robert shook himself mentally, trying to refocus on the task at hand. Follow Katherine – go through the ether, even if they didn't know what it would do or even whether there was a horcrux waiting for them on the other side.

He looked at the three teenagers in front of him and wondered how many times they'd done this before, faced unknown dangers together with the odds stacked high against them. He wondered what it felt like – to be on the right side for once, doing what was right because nothing else would do.

Even Katherine knew that wasn't the reason he was here – she'd not even tried to pretend otherwise when she'd brought Regulus' research to his house. He didn't care about the war – what did it matter to him if muggles he didn't know were killed – but as long the Dark Lord lived, his family was in danger and he couldn't have that. Katherine was doing it because Regulus asked her to, and probably for Remus and Severus as well.

But these three, these three weren't doing it for any of those reasons. Yes they wanted their family and friends safe, but that wasn't their main aim – they wanted to stop the Dark Lord because they believed what he was doing was wrong. Even Potter, whose part in this whole affair was decided before he was even born, was doing it of his own volition.

Sometimes he thought he was the only sane person in the world.

"Come on, then," he said tiredly. "We've only got everything to lose, right?"

And he turned around and walked through the ether, not because he wanted to, not because he didn't have any other option, but because Katherine had done it, and he'd follow her anywhere.

Even if she was insane.


	39. Into the ether

**Chapter 38 – Into the ether**

The first thing Robert saw when the afterimages had died from his eyes, was Katherine, leaning on a plinth of some sort in the middle of the open space. The light from the ether lit up the area like day, but it was colder than the outer chamber had been.

"Katherine?" he asked gently, half expecting his voice to echo and slightly unnerved when it didn't.

"It's not here."

"What?" She twisted her head around to look at him and smiled sourly.

"It's not here."

He frowned, and hurried up to the plinth where she stood, looking dazedly at the smooth stone.

"Might be hidden somewhere inside it," he offered, running a hand across the top, but knowing even as he did so that it was useless. There was nothing here, only a very slight trace of magic, and that wasn't even enough for a concealment charm. Something had been here once, something powerful, but it had taken away long ago. "Well it looks like human error is responsible for the Tube service, then," he muttered, heaving a deep sigh.

Katherine didn't seem to be listening, she was just gazing dully at the plinth with a dead expression in her eyes. He glanced around, trying to see a way out – Potter had been right, there didn't seem to be an exit outside the central pillar, so there must be one inside it.

"There isn't," said Katherine quietly, and he started, turning back to see she was watching him closely. "There's no way out. Not for you."

"For me?"

"For any of you – not without consequences."

"What about you?" he asked slowly, fighting the urge to back away from her. He didn't like where this conversation was going and the look in her eyes was starting to unnerve him.

"I escaped from Azkaban, Robert. There isn't a place in the world that can hold me for very long."

Robert held her gaze for a moment, then found he had to look away. He turned his attention instead to the churning mass of ether that surrounded them and wondered if he could get back through it. There had to be some way out, didn't there? The Dark Lord would want to be able to check on his horcrux, wouldn't he? But if he'd taken it back already, if he'd just shut the exit off...

He shook himself mentally; thinking like that wasn't going to solve anything. He walked slowly up to the glowing wall and placed a hand gingerly against it, disappointed but not surprised to find it held firm. Definitely no way out that way, but then that wasn't what Katherine had said, was it? She hadn't said there was no way out, just that they couldn't escape without consequences.

He was about to turn back and ask her what she had meant when he suddenly realised there hadn't been any sign of the trio yet. Had they not followed? If they hadn't maybe there was some way to get a message to them, ask them to look for another way out-

Katherine's voice interrupted his musings:

"You three took your time."

Robert sighed, and looked around at the three dishevelled teenagers.

"We were seeing if there was another way in," replied Harry, eyeing Katherine dubiously.

"And?"

"And there wasn't," shrugged Harry. "Is it here?"

"No."

"No?"

"You've got ears, haven't you? It isn't here," said Katherine shortly, turning her back on him and leaning on the stone plinth, the sapphire studded ring on her finger glittering brightly in the ever changing light. He gazed at it for a moment, wondering just how long they had before she withdrew completely and the teenagers found out exactly why everyone was so afraid of her.

Hermione was saying something, but he was barely listening; he couldn't stop looking at the ring sitting innocently on his friend's finger. There was something wrong about it, but he couldn't work out what – it looked the same as it always had, a broad silver band inset with blue jewels, but-

"...Robert?"

He jerked his head up, looking irritatedly at Hermione.

"What?"

"I asked if you knew how to get out," said the brunette quietly, brown eyes studying him worriedly. He glanced at Katherine who was watching him with a vaguely amused expression, arms folded challengingly, then back at the trio.

"I-" he began, then looked sharply at Katherine. "Where's your sling?"

For a moment, something flickered in her blue eyes, then she shrugged.

"My arm healed."

"So where's the sling? Did you burn it or what?" he asked, taking a step towards her, the uncomfortable feeling in his stomach growing. There was something seriously wrong here – this whole place was wrong. Katherine opened her mouth to reply but he spoke before she got the words out. "And since when do you wear that ring? You haven't worn that ring since before Azkaban," he said accusingly, narrowing his eyes. "I know you haven't because you always used to and I always expect it to be there and it's not."

"So I put it back on, so what?" asked Katherine, scowling at him. "Honestly, Robert, you're being ridicu-"

"What does ether do?" he cut in, not letting her finish.

"What?"

"The Dark Lord went to all the trouble of practically inventing ether, and for what? A test of nerve? Step through this and you can get the horcrux? Step through this and you'll never get out again unless you're a descendant of Slytherin and completely off your rocker? What does ether do, Katherine, because so far it hasn't done anything."

"Robert, it doesn't exist," snapped Katherine. "It doesn't _do_ anything-"

"Tell me about Aristotle."

"What?"

"Tell me something about Aristotle. Anything, anything at all."

Katherine surveyed him coolly for a long moment, then said quietly:

"And you have the cheek to call me crazy."

"You _are_ crazy," replied Robert hotly. "You know you're crazy, Katherine – everyone knows you're crazy, but you're not like this. This isn't how you behave – this is how I'm always scared you'll behave but you never do. Back when we were sixteen and I'd just joined the Death Eaters one of our missions went wrong and the Aurors turned up. Everyone ran but I was trapped and you came back for me. You wouldn't just sit back and accept that the horcrux isn't here – you'd go mental and bring the place down trying to find it because you'd think it was a trick and you'd want to be sure. You don't just give up, Katherine. You're incapable of giving up."

"What are you getting at?" asked Katherine quietly, in a voice that was so calm it was almost lifeless.

"You're not Katherine," said Robert, closing his eyes because he knew he sounded mad. "You're how I see Katherine but you're not her. And this isn't real, is it? I'm imagining it and I think it's real, but it's not."

"Course it's real," muttered Katherine, sighing heavily. "Don't be stupid, Avery."

"Then why did the trio only show up when I thought about them?" he asked, opening his eyes and glaring at her. "It's the ether, it's getting into..." He trailed off, suddenly aware that he was on the floor, having to prop himself up on his elbows to see her. She smiled faintly, and turned back to a plinth made of black marble.

Black marble, not stone. Where was he?

"Honestly, Robert, you're getting rather lax, aren't you?" chided Katherine absently. "Took you ages to wake up. For Salazar's sake, Potter was out of it before you."

Robert pushed himself up, looking around at a circular wall of light and an area very much like the one he'd just been in – dreamt he'd been in. Beside him on the floor were Ron and Hermione, their eyes shut and looking for all the world like they were asleep. He nudged Ron experimentally, but he didn't react.

"They're not asleep," said Harry's voice, and he looked up to see him sitting on the ground a little way to the left of Katherine. "Ron snores when he's asleep."

"The ether gets into your head?" ventured Robert, getting to his feet and walking over to the plinth. "Makes you, what, live your fears?"

Katherine glanced at him, blue eyes overly bright, and he could almost see the struggle inside her head; at the moment, it looked like marginally sane Katherine was winning.

"Traps you inside your own head and unless you can get out, you'll die," she said with a small smile that seemed a little manic. "Of starvation, I mean, or is it dehydration? I can never remember which one happens first."

"That gives you a long time to get out," he pointed out, frowning slightly.

"Still a nasty way to die," she shrugged, running an expert hand over the glossy surface of the plinth. "Harry said I tried to kill him in his dream, though, so I guess if someone does that you'll die too. If your mind thinks you're dead, you pretty much are."

Robert cast a glance at Harry who was twisting the black cord Katherine had been fiddling with earlier around his fingers.

"How did you get out?" he asked, frowning.

"Ron stepped in front of me and Katherine's curse hit him instead," said Harry quietly, eyes darting anxiously over to where his friend lay. "And then, I don't know, I just thought it couldn't be real because, well, he couldn't be dead. He's my best friend."

"See, denial is a good thing," said Katherine brightly as Harry fell into silence. Robert rolled his eyes and she grinned. "I need help."

"I know. We'll be out of here soon – is there a way out?" asked Robert; in the relief of waking up, he'd forgotten to look.

"Hope so," said Katherine calmly, peering closely at the marble.

"You haven't looked?" questioned Robert, the surprise evident in his voice.

"Harry's looking," she replied, gesturing at the black haired boy.

"You know how to use one of those?" asked Robert, frowning at him. Harry shook his head.

"No idea, but I don't think she does either," he answered, nodding towards Katherine, who laughed and ran a hand through her hair.

"The patterns make themselves, Potter. All you have to do is play around till you find one, or in your case, it finds you and if you're serious about it, stop talking and start concentrating."

"How did you wake up?" asked Robert, as Harry shot Katherine an annoyed look and turned back to his task.

"I didn't," answered Katherine, looking up and meeting his gaze with a placid expression on her face.

"You didn't?"

"Nothing happened – well, that's not strictly true, everything sort of flickered for a moment, but then I was here. Only figured something might be meant to happen when you walked through and collapsed on the floor." She cast a glance at the two unconscious teenagers still lying on the ground. "I think you're right though – the ether gets into your head and manipulates what you see so it's just about believable but sort of the worst case scenario."

"And yet it didn't affect you?" he questioned and she smiled grimly, looking almost normal again.

"The only way anything's getting into my head at the moment is with a sledgehammer. Why did you wake up, anyway?"

"You were being weirder than usual," he shrugged, giving her a half smile.

"Is that possible?"

"Apparently." He sighed, watching her examine the plinth. "Is there a horcrux here?"

"Doesn't look like it, does it?" she said distractedly, and he frowned, wondering whether he had really woken up or not. She glanced at him and rolled her eyes, grabbing his hand and holding it over the plinth. "Feel like it?" He snatched his hand away, rubbing it to try and ease the pain.

"That _hurt_," he said, staring at the plinth.

"That's a horcrux. Very dark magic."

"The locket didn't feel like that."

"Reg had broken most of the curses surrounding it – we only did the last bit."

"So this one's going to be harder to destroy?"

"Of course." She glanced up at him, adrenaline fuelling the volatile look in her eyes. "But we're going to destroy it." She massaged her swollen shoulder absently with her free hand and looked pensively at the black marble. "Just got to work out how to get it. Pleasant dreams, Weasley?" Robert frowned at her last comment, then turned around to see Ron sitting up, looking pale and confused.

"What happened?" he mumbled, then he caught sight of Hermione and what blood there was left drained from his face. "Is she ok?"

"As long as she wakes up soon," murmured Katherine, looking thoughtfully from the plinth to where Harry sat, twisting the black cord around his fingers.

"Soon?" asked Ron, looking up sharply. "What if she doesn't?" Katherine glanced at him, one eyebrow slightly raised.

"Do you really need me to spell it out for you?"

"Can't you make her wake up?"

"What do you suggest we do?" asked Katherine, giving him a derogatory look. "You can try pinching her if you want, or maybe a kiss is more appropriate."

"What?"

"Well it worked for Sleeping Beauty," shrugged Katherine carelessly. "True love's first kiss and all that."

"Can't you get into her head," asked Ron, ignoring this remark. "Tell her it's not real. There is a spell that can do that, isn't there?"

"You really want me messing about in her head the state I'm in?" asked Katherine quizzically. "Anyway, I'm pretty sure you have to figure it out on your own. Else you wouldn't be worthy to get the horcrux."

"There must be something we can do," argued Ron, looking to Robert for support.

"I don't think so," he said quietly, glancing at Katherine who gazed back mildly.

"What?" she asked, arching an eyebrow. "I was being serious about the kiss."

"Katherine-" he began, but Katherine spoke over him, turning to face Ron.

"You love her, don't you?" she said, looking coolly at Ron who flushed scarlet, staring at her and even Harry looked up from his task and frowned.

"What kind of a question is that?" stammered Ron, and Katherine rolled her eyes.

"Tell her. Really. Before she finds someone else and you end up a bitter and twisted old man with a broken heart." She smiled sourly, fingering the pendant round her neck absently. "Or maybe you'd prefer to die young and have her mourn you."

"Katherine," said Robert sharply and she looked up at him, frowning slightly.

"What?"

"Stop it," said Robert patiently, holding her gaze and waiting for her rationality to reassert itself. Don't get angry or worried – that was the key. If he stayed calm, she wouldn't have anything to rebel against and maybe she'd be all right for a little while longer. He glanced at her hand which was tightly wrapped around her necklace, and decided it might be best to keep the topic of conversation away from Severus Snape, too.

She followed his gaze and let go of the pendant, stuffing her hand in her jeans pocket and sitting down with her back to the plinth. Robert studied her for a moment, wondering what he could do to help her even once they were out – she wasn't just going to snap back into normal Katherine again, not this time – but a sudden burst of light cut off further musings.

"You found it?" he asked Harry, staring at the spell writhing just above his hands. Harry was looking at the twisting line of light with a slightly stunned expression, his hands perfectly still.

"What do I do?" His voice, when he spoke was barely more than a whisper, as though noise of any sort might make the glowing line of violet and gold disappear forever.

"Break it," said a small voice and Robert heard Ron gasp; Hermione was awake. She smiled weakly at Harry as he looked over at her with a concerned expression. "I'm fine, Harry. You have to break it – that's what she did."

"But we don't know what spell this is," said Harry, frowning deeply. "It might not be-"

"It's the spell protecting the Cup," said Katherine quietly. Robert looked down at her where she was sitting with her face buried in her one free hand. "Granger's right. Break the spell and use AK on the horcrux. We need to get out of here."

"AK?"

"Avada Kedavra."

"But I don't know how to-" began Harry, then trailed off as Katherine looked up at him.

"Half an hour ago you couldn't sense magic."

"What if something happens when we've got the horcrux?" asked Harry, gazing at the spell still hovering in front of him.

"We'll deal with it. It's not like we have much choice."

"How do you cast Avada Kedavra?" asked Harry quietly, after a moment's pause.

"Mean it," Katherine answered shortly.

"That's it? You just have to hate someone enough to kill them?"

"You don't have to hate them. Just know you've got to kill them."

Harry studied her for a moment, then looked over at his friends; Ron had an arm around Hermione and was watching him intently and Hermione still looked shaken but he knew she'd help if he asked her to.

But he wouldn't; this was something he had to do on his own. Ron and Hermione could come with him, could help him get where he needed to go but they couldn't destroy Voldemort. That was his destiny.

He concentrated on the thread of light before him and pulled his hands sharply apart. There was sound like a banshee's scream and then the wall of ether around them started to whirl. Gold flecks in the column grouped together and flew inwards, towards the plinth, and Harry looked up just in time to see Robert haul Katherine clear as the golden light earthed itself into the black marble.

He was vaguely aware of Katherine swearing quietly in a hushed voice but it barely even registered – his attention was fixed on the molten gold object forming on top of the plinth.

Hufflepuff's Cup.

He stepped hesitantly towards it as it settled, shivering slightly; if he got this wrong, they were all in trouble. What if destroying the Cup brought the chamber down on them, what if there was no exit – maybe he should ask his friends to find a way to leave before he tried to get rid of it – or maybe he should just run now, it was all lost anyway, you couldn't win against someone like Voldemort-

He started at Katherine's yell and whipped round to see her glaring up at the pillar of swirling mist around them. At first he thought breaking the spell had done something to his hearing, but then he saw the puzzled looks on his friends faces and decided that Katherine wasn't speaking English. She seemed to be very angry about something, and even though he didn't understand the exact words he knew she was swearing.

And then he realised why.

The pillar of light around them had dimmed, no longer emitting a pale golden glow, it now shone silver and looked more like smoke or fog than liquid sunlight. He saw Robert put a hand on her shoulder to try and calm her down but she flinched away, scowling at him and drew her wand, sending a huge silver figure shooting out of it.

She watched it for a second as it launched itself into the tendrils of mist that were creeping inwards, driving them backwards and away from the small group, then her bright blue eyes snapped onto his and one eyebrow was raised. The meaning was clear – she wanted know what he was waiting for.

He took one last look at Ron and Hermione, wrapped in each other's arm then turned back to the Cup and flung the killing curse at the fifth horcrux.

**x – X – x**

Reviews and cliffie complaints are welcome. ;)


	40. Recovery

**Chapter 39 – Recovery**

Harry sat quietly in his room at the Burrow, watching the sky outside lightening from grey to blue and marvelling once again at how determined the world was to defy your expectations and just keep marching on as though nothing momentous had happened. Opposite him, Ron snored softly, sprawled awkwardly across his bed, lost deep in a dreamless sleep. Harry envied him; every time he closed his eyes he saw green light and shadows.

He shivered and pulled the sheets closer around him, trying to remember exactly how they'd escaped. He vaguely recalled the Cup shattering, black shapes forming at the edge of his vision, the sound of hollow death rattles as the Dementors drew breath...and then Katherine was snarling something in an ancient language he couldn't understand, the anger radiating from her so fierce that even Avery had backed away.

After that everything was a little unclear. Somehow, one moment they'd been a couple of hundred feet under London and next thing he knew, they were standing in a deserted street somewhere in the capital, not quite knowing what had happened. He remembered Katherine looking slightly lost, the target of her anger suddenly removed and then Hermione had burst into tears, sliding to the floor as Ron crouched down beside her, putting a comforting arm around her shoulders. Harry had known how she felt – his own ears were still ringing with his mother's screams and the sound of Bellatrix's laughter as Sirius fell to his death – but he was determined not to let Voldemort win.

He'd destroyed a horcrux. He wouldn't let fear destroy him.

And then Katherine had turned to him, and he was forcibly reminded what real fear was; there had been no emotion in those blue eyes, no anger, no hurt, no nothing – just a cold sort of sanity that scared him more than anything else had that night. It had taken him a few moments to realise she was using Legilimency on him, but even when he had realised, he couldn't look away.

Robert had tried to talk to her but she'd only shrugged him off, glancing around to check everyone was all right and then disappeared – though he didn't think she'd disapparated, and he hadn't see a portkey. Robert had looked worried but Harry knew where she was going – back to the cave by sea and the ranks of Inferi that lay buried beneath the green water.

She'd only found her mother, after all.

He leant back against the wall and sighed, wondering where she was now. He still didn't trust her and he was certainly more wary of her now, but he'd started to realise that circumstance had dragged her into a life she hadn't really want to pursue, just as it had done to him. The only difference was that she was on the opposing side.

Most of the time.

x – X – x

It was drawing close to seven in the morning when Severus woke up. He lay in bed for a while, listening to the low hum of the shower across the hall and wondering whether Katherine had come home yet. She'd disappeared at around ten the previous morning and hadn't been in since. And then there was all that business with Saint Catherine's orphanage.

He turned over and wondered whether she'd tracked down a horcrux. Her and Robert together were more than a match for the Dark Lord and if she was helping Potter, which seemed likely given that stunt with Bellatrix and the McKenzies, then he was rather inclined to believe that their Master didn't stand a chance.

When he left his room half an hour later to get breakfast, the shower was still running. He frowned slightly, but shrugged it off. He'd never lived with women before but he was sure he'd heard that they spent hours in the bathroom.

Forty minutes later, he could still hear the water running. Surely the hot water would have run out by now? He put down the morning paper and headed upstairs, casting a glance towards Nicola's closed door. It was a Tuesday so she hadn't risen early to go to work and the silence emanating from her room was an occupied one.

That only left Katherine or a complete stranger, and despite the wards they'd placed on the house to prevent surprise visitors spotting a couple of Wanted criminals wandering around the house, Nicola still tended to avoid bringing people home. After a moments hesitation, he walked up to the bathroom door and knocked lightly on it, surprised and a little alarmed to find that it gave way under his knuckles and swung open. A cloud of damp air rushed out to greet him as he peered inside.

"Katherine?" he asked softly, eyes settling on the small figure hunched on the floor by the bath. She didn't move so he edged in softly, reaching behind her to turn off the shower which was spouting icy cold water onto the white tiles and crouching down beside her.

Only when he extended a hand to touch her shoulder did she move, flinching away as though burned. He raised an eyebrow in confusion and she blinked up at him, right hand going protectively to the shoulder he'd touched and looking rather lost.

"Severus?"

"Yes, it's me," he said quietly, looking into those dazed blue eyes and trying to suppress the feeling of dread that was seeping through him. "Are you all right?"

A stupid question, he knew, but he couldn't think what else to say. He'd seen that look on her face so many times before but had never thought he'd see it again. He'd thought she was past that phase. What on earth could have happened to trigger it again?

"No." The word was whispered so softly that he nearly missed it.

"What's wrong?" he asked as she looked bemusedly at him, those brilliant eyes were faded and almost childlike as they stared hazily at him.

"I hurt my arm." She pulled her shirt down from her left shoulder and seeing the dark purple bruises that surrounded the swollen joint, he realised why'd she'd flinched earlier.

"I think I've got some ointment that'll reduce the swelling," he said, examining the shoulder with light fingers. "What did you do?"

"Dislocated it," she answered sleepily, resting her head on the edge of the bath and studying him lazily. "You're a good friend, Severus."

He smiled tightly and hurried back to his room to find the right potion. She was still in the same position when he returned, knees huddled up to her chin, eyes staring listlessly into middle distance. He had the feeling that more had been hurt by her latest adventure than her body, but he could do very little about that. Physical injuries he could deal with – psychological ones were beyond his area of expertise.

He treated the wound as best he could and tied a support bandage around it then sat back on his heels and looked into her vacant eyes, wondering just how much of this she was taking in.

"He wasn't there," she said after a while, not meeting his worried gaze.

"Who wasn't?"

"Dad."

"The Dark Lord?" he asked, a frown creasing his forehead. Had she gone after Voldemort? Or did she mean a horcrux? But now she was shaking her head and his frown deepened at her next words.

"Not Tom. My Dad. My real Dad. He wasn't there." She looked up, eyes a little clearer now, but the kind of clarity that he had learned long ago to be worried about. When Katherine had been sixteen she'd had that look in her eyes a lot – that cold sanity that had allowed her to get on with life and pretend she wasn't being torn apart inside. During their fifth year at Hogwarts he'd seen her go from mild tempered to irate and back again in a matter of seconds nearly every day, till those final few weeks before she'd cracked when anything anyone said was met with harsh words and a furious glare.

That was the time when they'd learnt to be scared of her and decided to make sure they never got on her bad side. Except for Evan, of course, who'd never really paid her much attention because, he suddenly realised, she hadn't sought it. Nicola had befriended her with the hope of getting to know some of Leon's mates a little better and Cassandra had already been on good terms with her; Robert she had known from missions and he himself she'd practically enlisted to help her with work, but she'd never approached Evan or Daemon. She hadn't needed them.

"He wasn't where?" Severus asked carefully, as she sat up a little straighter, eyes hardening.

"Nowhere," she answered shortly, working her shoulder joint gingerly. On an impulse he slid her wand away from where it lay on the floor beside her and held it behind his back. She stopped moving her arm and looked sharply at him. "Give it back."

"No."

"Give it back, Severus. I need it."

"You're in no fit state to be doing anything, Katherine. You _need_ rest."

"I will rest. Right after I've paid Tom a little visit."

"You pay the Dark Lord a visit now and the only resting you'll be doing is the eternal kind," he answered, looking archly at her.

"Severus Ruchbar Snape, give me my wand."

"No. I will not let you get yourself killed."

"It's my life – I can do what I like with it."

"Not while I'm alive, you can't. I happen want it intact, if it's all the same to you."

"Severus, if you don't hand over my wand this instant, I'll-"

"Thump me? Break my neck? You couldn't do that, Katherine," he said with a sigh, looking tiredly at her. "You know that."

She glared at him, eyes blazing, her hands balled into fists and then her lip trembled and suddenly there were tears rolling down her cheeks. He stared at her, not quite knowing what to do and was grateful for the soft voice from the doorway.

"What's going on?"

He looked up into the dark brown eyes of Nicola and thought he'd never been so relived to see anyone in his life. He stood quickly as Katherine buried her face in her hands and shook silently, wrapped inside her own private nightmare.

"Can you stay with her?" he asked Nicola quietly. "I'm going to go and see Lucius – he's been sent to the South of France for a few weeks and he leaves today. I'll see if I can persuade him to take her with him. She needs to get away from here for a bit – if she meets the Dark Lord in this state she's going to end up doing something she'll regret."

Nicola nodded, dark eyes filled with concern. "Go then. I can take care of things here."

He smiled thankfully and with one last look at Katherine, headed off to find his oldest friend.

x – X – x

The coach rumbled over the bumpy road as Lucius Malfoy looked at his latest companion. She hadn't said a word to him since Severus had dropped her off at the airport, though she had taken the plane tickets forcibly out of his hands at check in and dealt with the woman at the desk herself. He didn't particularly care – he wasn't much good at muggle things and was extremely dubious about the whole airplane concept in general but there was no other way to get to France without arousing Ministry suspicions.

Luckily, although they kept an eye out at muggle hotspots, the Aurors didn't expect a couple of Death Eaters to actually use muggle transport and Lucius had the added protection of the Polyjuice Potion Severus had brewed for this mission. Katherine, of course, could change her appearance at will and he hadn't been altogether surprised to learn that Severus had found several muggle passports among her belongings, each with a different picture.

She was currently masquerading as Caitlin Murphy, a slim brunette with light grey eyes and, apparently, not much of a desire for conversation. He glanced sideways at her, wondering exactly what had happened to make her so introverted all of a sudden. Severus hadn't been very explicit, but Lucius rather thought that this was because he hadn't known.

Which undoubtedly meant that Katherine had been doing something she shouldn't have been with no thought for the consequences and had left others to pick up the pieces. Not that Severus had minded, he thought. That man would follow her to the ends of the earth no matter what she did to him. People did foolish things for love, even Severus Snape.

"Where are we?"

He started, looking sharply at Katherine who was gazing out of the window.

"Bordeaux," he answered after a momentary pause.

"France?"

"Yes." He hesitated as she fixed a pair of clear grey eyes on him. "You remember the plane, right?" She shrugged.

"Vaguely."

"Caitlin, we only got off it half an hour ago," he said, frowning deeply. She shrugged again.

"Everything's a bit hazy. Did I hit Severus?"

"I don't know. Don't think so," he said carefully, studying her curiously. She sighed, running a hand though her hair and frowning when she saw it was brown.

"Oh. I'm supposed to be helping you, aren't I?"

"That's what Severus told your father," he said, noticing that she scowled at the reference to the Dark Lord. "However, I'm under strict orders from him to make sure you rest. Don't want you going completely off your rocker, do we?"

She gave him a disparaging look and gazed out of the window again.

"So, what were you up to?" he asked as the silence threatened to stretch out.

"None of your business."

"Ah, not mental enough to forget you hate me, right?"

"I don't hate you."

He arched an eyebrow, gazing at her with an amused smile and kept quiet, knowing full well that if he got any more truthful answers out of her while she was in this state, he'd pay for it later; she didn't take too kindly to being taken advantage of – Leon's little Russian adventure was proof enough of that. He sat back in the cramped seat and longed for the old armchair that had sat in his family's Manor for as far back as he could remember. Why did muggles put themselves through this? Surely there had to be easier ways to get from place to place. Even long distance Flooing was better than this – at least that was quick, even if you did tend to smell of soot for days afterwards.

Next to him, Katherine was gazing dully out of the window, thoughts retreated somewhere he couldn't follow. He was only taking her with him because Severus had asked and when Severus asked for something, he usually meant it. It took a lot for someone as proud as him to admit he needed a favour. Then again, it was he who was in Severus' debt at present anyway – Narcissa had told him what his oldest friend had done for Draco while he was in prison; making sure the love of Severus' life got back to normal again might go a little way towards repaying that debt.

He wondered if she knew how much Severus loved her – how he cared for her more than anything else in his life. He'd been devastated when she'd died – had refused to believe it despite common sense and his own better judgement. Lucius had thought he'd been in denial, and maybe he had, but he'd been right and Lucius had been forced to admit that he'd underestimated Katherine yet again.

He glanced at her as her right hand curled around the snake pendant that he remembered Severus had bought for her as a Christmas present in their last year at Hogwarts and frowned as a new thought struck him. She had that necklace – now, after Azkaban – yet she wouldn't have been allowed it in prison and he knew her things would have changed hands numerous times after her supposed death, so why was she back in possession of it? Had she tracked it down?

He frowned deeply, and mused privately. He knew Katherine better than to suppose she was simply particularly fond of a mere piece of jewellery, but was the alternative really possible? Could she like Severus – love Severus? Could Katherine Riddle, who had gone out with Leon Wilkes and Sirius Black (who, if Narcissa's opinion was anything to go by, were two of the handsomest men of their generation), be in love with Severus Snape whose own mother would hesitate to call fair?

He sighed and shifted a little in his seat. Well if she was, Bella was going to be most disappointed; she'd thought the person Katherine cared most about was her cousin. He smiled wryly to himself; knowing something his fair sister-in-law didn't always made his day a little brighter.

x – X – x

They arrived at the villa at around half six in the evening, just as the sun was setting and while he went to unpack, Katherine wandered off. He found her a little while later, sitting on the patio that overlooked the port, watching the great ships sway to and fro in the dark water and singing softly under her breath.

He sat down next to her, placing a glass of fruit juice on the flat stones beside her and listening to the faint roar of the waves in the distance and the soft, sweet tones of her voice. From what he could make out of the words, it seemed to be some sort of nursery rhyme, the sort that loving parents are meant to sing at night to lull their child to sleep, but then again he didn't have much experience of such things so he wasn't much of a judge. She fell silent after a while and gave such a wistful sigh that he looked at her in concern.

"Are you all right?" She shrugged.

"Just thinking."

He looked into her eyes – back to their usual blue again – and noted that she was almost back to normal; tired and upset to be sure, but the real Katherine was in there somewhere and she'd recover properly given time.

"What was the song?"

"Just something my mother used to sing to me," she answered, pulling her knees up to her chest and resting her head on them. "About two friends who grow up together and go to war, then one ends up saving the other's life. I used to think they were so brave, now I just think they did what they could. You can't get heroes in war."

"Not even bold Mr Potter?"

"Him? He's a scared kid striving to stay alive, just like the rest of us. All we really want is someone to hold us and tell us everything's going to be all right."

"Even if it's a lie?" She looked at him, blue eyes looking infinitely sad in the waning light.

"I'd be happy to believe it. Wouldn't you?" He smiled faintly, a touch of a smirk creeping into his expression.

"Ah, see this is where we're divided you see, because you really are going to be all right. You've got some kind of guardian angel watching over you, don't give me that look, you must have the amount of scrapes you've managed to wriggle your way out of, whereas I have to rely on instinct alone. It's quite unfair." She smiled softly, blue eyes lightening a little.

"Maybe I'll have a word with my angel then, see if it's got a mate who can look after you for a bit."

"Or you could lend me yours," he pointed out, looking out over the dark expanse of the ocean. She chuckled derisively, the sound muffled because she was hunched up to keep warm.

"No chance. I need all the help I can get."

He smirked and sipped the glass of red wine he'd been holding. On reflection, maybe this trip wasn't going to be as bad as he'd first thought. At least Katherine was being civil – friendly even.

"Thank you." He glanced up, surprised.

"For what?"

"This. Looking out for Severus. And, well, you know, last time."

"Gratitude accepted for the first two, but I didn't really do anything last time," he said meditatively, swilling the red liquid around his glass.

"You could have stopped me," she said quietly. "You could have told Trix or Leon I was leaving, but you didn't. You let me go – let me sort myself out. I'll always be thankful for that whether you choose to accept it or not."

"Point taken," he murmured, tugging his cloak a little tighter around himself in the night breeze. "And while we're on the subject, can I ask you a question?"

"Of course, as long as I'm under no obligation to answer." She looked at him interestedly, and he wondered idly how she managed to look vulnerable and resolute at the same time, and then asked the question that had gnawed at him for nearly twenty four years.

"Exactly what _did_ you do with that baby?"

**x – X – x**

Reviews and confused questions are welcome. :)


	41. Double cross

**Chapter 40 – Double cross**

Faye Belle looked up sharply from her marking and into the mirror in front of her. Her own face, frowning and worried, looked back at her; the room behind her was empty as far as she could tell, but she still couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching her.

She glanced down at the paper she was marking, telling herself to stop being paranoid, and then she saw it, out of the corner of her eye – a slight shimmering just beside the wardrobe. Praying silently that it wasn't a student, she whipped round and sent a stunning spell in the direction of the movement.

The spell rebounded and a woman materialised, laughing softly.

"Very good, Faye. I see she's taught you well."

Faye looked back at the dark haired woman, holding her head high and trying not to look as terrified as she felt.

"Trix? What _are_ you doing in my room?"

The dark haired woman frowned, though Faye was sure it was Bellatrix. And Katherine did call her Trix, didn't she? Had she remembered that right? Yes, she knew he'd said that – she could remember his voice telling her so...

_...be as scornful as possible and only call her Bella if you're being really impatient or in a bad mood, otherwise it's always Trix..._

"Taught you very well," the woman murmured. "You've certainly got her attitude down to a tee at any rate." She smiled sourly, stepping closer and peering into her eyes. Faye was ready for this however and turned back to her marking with an elaborate sigh, trying to ignore all her instincts which were screaming that she shouldn't turn her back on this woman.

"What do you want, Trix? Some of us have work to do, you know."

_...and don't hold her gaze for too long if you can help it, not at close quarters at any rate. She knows Katherine, and she'll be able to tell..._

"Yes we do, don't we. Like you, _Katherine_, where are you supposed to be right now?"

Faye arched an eyebrow, feeling a prickle of fear but determined not to show it. She couldn't slip out of character, not now, not in front of Bellatrix Lestrange.

"Well according to my contract, I'm supposed to be right here, marking these essays for tomorrow, but clearly you know better, so do feel free to enlighten me. Where exactly am I supposed to be?"

"In the south of France," said Bellatrix smoothly, placing her hands either side of Faye's shoulders on the back of her chair. "With _dear _sweet Lucius."

Faye folded her arms and met Bellatrix's dark eyed gaze in the mirror.

"And you think I can't be in two places at once, right?"

"Even Katherine can't manage two countries at the same time," said Bellatrix, smiling cruelly.

"I am right here, you know."

"Oh of course you are," agreed Bellatrix soothingly, as though she were talking to a little girl rather than a grown women approaching forty. "But you're not Katherine, are you? You're Faye Belle. The little naïve cousin that she's been working so very hard to protect from the big bad nasty world. Only now she's gone and forgotten you." Bellatrix leaned in closer, her mouth hovering next to Faye's ear and it was all the blonde woman could do to fight the urge to run. "And maybe her well intentioned safeguards weren't quite as good as she thought. Or maybe she just doesn't care. What do you think?"

"Bella, I don't know what the hell you're going on about," scowled Faye, with an impatient sigh.

"No?" asked Bellatrix, thick lips curling into a cruel smile. "Well, we'll see if your Uncle has a better idea, shall we? Honestly Faye, nearly thirty nine years on this planet and you've never once paid him a visit." Faye tried in vain to pull away as Bellatrix caught her wrists and bound them firmly, the dark eyes gazing into her own filled with malice. "Shame on you."

x – X – x

"Meliflua."

Nicola turned at the shout, searching for it's source. A sandy haired man hurried up to catch up with her, light brown eyes lined with age and worry.

"Hello. Lupin, isn't it?"

He nodded briefly, eyes flickering over the passers by, and Nicola wondered who he was trying to avoid being seen by. Aurors or Death Eaters?

"Do you know where she is?" he asked, keeping his voice light, though his eyes betrayed his desperation. Nicola half considered feigning ignorance, but decided against it; it looked important.

"Gone away for a bit; I'm not sure when she'll be back."

"Gone?" He seemed genuinely startled, but recovered himself well. "Can you get a message to her?"

"Is it urgent?"

"Yes."

"And does it require her immediate attention?" she asked, thinking of what Severus had said the week before. Lupin frowned, as though wondering if they were talking about the same person.

"Faye needs her help," he said quietly. "She's missing."

_Faye? Now where had she seen that name that before today? Oh yes, the Aurors report on missing persons. _

"She's the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts, isn't she?" she asked slowly, her dark eyes narrowing slightly. _Why would Katherine want to help her? She'd never mentioned she was a friend. Or maybe Lupin liked her – but he was going out with that rainbow haired Auror, wasn't he? Andromeda Black's daughter..._

"Yes," Lupin was nodding, giving her a guarded look. "Listen, could you just get a message to her, please. She'll want to know, believe me." He started to turn away, but she called out and he turned back, frowning. "What?"

"I can't – get a message to her, that is. Even if I knew where she was, which I don't, the last thing she needs right now is more stress."

"Why? What's happened?" he asked, a new emotion flickering in his eyes now: fear.

"I don't know exactly, but," she glanced around quickly and seeing that no one was paying them much attention, continued: "She was a bit messed up, is all. Not as bad as last time, but she only got like that because she didn't have a chance to get her head sorted again. That's why I can't contact her – she needs to recuperate. I won't be responsible for dragging her back here."

"She didn't tell you what happened?" Lupin looked really worried now, running a hand through his hair so that it stuck up at odd angles. "But if she doesn't talk to anyone-"

"Calm down, she'll be all right."

"Who's she with? Is she with anyone? Has she got someone to-?"

"I don't know - I didn't sort it out and from what I saw it didn't look like she wanted to talk to anyone," said Nicola coolly, surveying Lupin with a thoughtful air. He really must care about her – almost as much as Severus did, maybe more.

"She didn't want to last time either," muttered Lupin frowning deeply, but Nicola shook her head.

"Yes she did – every time she snapped at us, all those nights sitting staring at the fire, she wanted to say something – that's why she went and found you in the end, she needed to talk. This time she doesn't, I can't explain it, but she doesn't. She just needs time to get over whatever it was that drove her over the edge like that." Nicola smiled apprehensively, hoping she'd done a little to ease his mind, but from the look he was giving her, she wasn't sure the message had been driven home.

"How do you know she came to talk to me?" he asked, light brown eyes narrowed in suspicion. Nicola hesitated for a moment, then opted for the truth.

"Severus told me. He followed her that night she came to find you – thought she was going to do something stupid, I guess." She shrugged, considering him. "You're not going to tell her, are you? She doesn't know he overheard."

"I'm surprised she didn't catch him," said Lupin, still frowning, but looking a little less ruffled.

"Really?" asked Nicola, raising her eyebrows. "I'm not. She was rather out of it for most of that year. I asked her about it a couple of weeks ago – that year I mean – and she laughed and said she couldn't remember most of it. I told her some of the stuff she'd done and stared at me as though she thought I was making it up."

"She can't remember? Isn't that a bit odd?" asked Lupin, looking rather disconcerted, but Nicola only shrugged, grinning again.

"Not really. Like I said, she was rather messed up – didn't know who she was half the time and didn't care for the other half." She paused, face becoming serious again. "I suppose I should really thank you – for getting her back on track again. She might never have recovered if you hadn't been there for her – she wouldn't talk to us."

Lupin frowned, eyes searching hers, then said quietly:

"She hasn't told you either, has she?"

"Told me what?" asked Nicola, thrown by his question. What did he mean 'either'?

"Why she snapped out of it."

"She talked to yo-"

"Why?"

It was one simple word, but it stopped Nicola in her tracks. Why? Why _had _Katherine talked to him? If she'd been wanting to talk to him all year, what had made her do it that night? She'd coped on her own up till then, so what had made her break? And _why on earth_ had none of them thought of, much less asked, that question before?

"I always wondered why she turned up," Lupin was saying quietly. "I mean, we talked about what had happened since Christmas, but she never said why she was there and I was too busy being glad that she was speaking to me again to ask, but I'd always assumed she'd argued with you lot, or something? Are you saying that didn't happen?"

"Us? Argue with her? The state she was in? I'd have sooner jumped off the top of the Astronomy Tower – the survival rate would have been pretty much the same," scoffed Nicola, shaking her head. "I mean, she turned up at about nine in a weird mood, but she did that a lot. Oh, and she gave Leon a filthy look when he tried to talk to her, I remember that, because Angela Freyer came over and asked me if they'd had a fight."

"Had they?"

"Not that I knew of – I think I told her to go stuff herself, or words to that effect. She was just after Leon; most girls were. Couldn't stand the fact that he'd hooked up with a fifth year mudblood." Nicola noticed he frowned at her choice of words, but made no attempt to apologise; he may have been Katherine's oldest friend but that didn't mean she had to be nice to him - she just had to not hurt him.

"She's not a muggleborn," he said softly, putting a slight stress on the last words. Nicola shrugged.

"Yeah well, we didn't know that then, did we? She didn't speak much about her family and all we knew was that she'd been raised by muggles. What were we supposed to think?" She was silent for a moment, then sighed. "Look, do you want me to get a few friends to ask around for Faye? I could-" But Lupin was shaking his head.

"Don't worry about it. I'll figure something out. In fact, best not mention it if you can avoid it – she probably wouldn't want it advertised. I'll see you around, all right? Thanks for your help." And then he was gone, slipping away into the mass of people crowding the busy London streets, leaving Nicola with the unsettled feeling that she'd missed something important.

Ten minutes later, she was back in the Ministry, using up the rest of her lunch break to sift through the latest files on the desk. She found the missing persons report under a pile of folders and flipped it open, dark eyes searching the details for some hint that would link Faye to Katherine in some way, but there was nothing obvious. And then she looked at the inside sleeve of the folder, at the close up photo tucked into the brown card and stared into a face that was so like Katherine's it was disturbing.

So at least that explained why Lupin had wanted to reach her so badly, and why he'd said to let it go; he'd realised Katherine hadn't told anyone she'd got a cousin. Nicola hesitated for a moment, scarlet nails tapping thoughtfully on the brown card of the folder, and then, reaching a decision, she snapped it closed and slipped it into her bag.

This was not Auror business. How on earth were they supposed to track her down with Aurors sniffing around the place ruining things? No, this was definitely a private matter.

She feigned a migraine and left Christina in charge of the desk, hoping as she headed home, that Severus would know what to do.

x – X – x

When Faye came to, she was sitting in a plush chair, hands tied to the armrests with a strong cord. The walls of the room around her were panelled with dark mahogany, giving the small space an oppressive feel, contributed to by the fact that there were no windows. A man with black hair and amber eyes was on a sofa opposite her, sitting so still she nearly missed him.

Her mind raced, going through the bank of photographs she'd memorised and tried not to panic when she couldn't think of his name. She could see the photo, see the smirk, hear a voice saying '…and this is my cousin...', but the actual name eluded her. What on earth was it?

"You're awake, I see," said the man softly. "So sorry – that was incredible rude of her, but that's Bella for you. You'll get used to her – if you live that long."

What _was_ his name? It was on the tip of her tongue…

"You know, it's ok. You don't have to pretend anymore – she's got you. Katherine would never have allowed herself to be taken like that – she'd have hexed Bella into next week before she'd come within ten meters." The man smiled, amber eyes showing something like regret. "And she tends to kill people when she gets annoyed."

"Yeah, I do," said Faye, scowling. "So I suggest you start running, Ju. I'll give you a couple of minutes because you're Severus' cousin, but that's all. Then I'm coming after you – right after I've dealt with dear Trixibell."

Julian snorted with laughter, staring incredulously at her.

_"Trixibell?"_

"What? You don't think it suits her? The way she trails round after Tom? I swear she's trying to- Well, that's not for young ears to hear, is it?"

"Kitten, I'm twenty nine."

"You're still ten years younger than I am, and don't you forget it," admonished Faye, wondering why on earth her cousin was nicknamed Kitten. She couldn't think of anyone less kitten like – a big cat, maybe, but not a kitten. Julian, gazed at her, amber eyes narrowed in thought; Faye decided she didn't like that look – it gave the impression that he was far too smart for his own good.

"Not going to chide me for calling you 'Kitten'?"

"I've given up," improvised Faye, scowling at him.

"You may as well give up the act too. I know you're not Katherine."

"Oh?"

"She's in France and besides, you don't look like her."

"Looks can be deceiving."

"So she always says, but I can tell when it's her – doesn't matter what she looks like. When you spend enough time around someone, looks become immaterial." He stood up, brushing off his robes. "I'm sorry – I really am. I like Katherine, but she went away and I had to survive somehow – I'm only doing what she taught me to."

Faye just stared at him as he left, presumably off to fetch Bellatrix, and then bent her head and bit off the dark jade stone that was set into the silver ring on her right hand. She swallowed it, glancing worriedly at the door as she did so; she didn't know how long it would take for Julian to get back with Bellatrix. She only hoped the potion would work as well as Severus had said it would.

x – X – x

"So Katherine is a traitor? And you have proof of this?" Simon Carr looked from Bella's jubilant face to Julian's impassive expression. "Lloyd?"

"We've got her cousin sitting upstairs and she told the Dark Lord she'd killed her," said Julian with a slight shrug.

"You see?" Bella rushed in, face glowing. "She _lied_ to our Master. Why would she do that if she had nothing to hide? And she still hasn't told anyone how she escaped from Azkaban." Carr nodded, face grave.

"I think you'd better show me this Faye, don't you?"

x – X – x

Julian hung back as Bellatrix led Simon to the room where Faye sat, trying to convince himself that he wasn't doing anything wrong. What he'd said was true – Katherine had abandoned him – she'd swanned off to Azkaban and left him to fend for himself. True, the war was ending, but he hadn't known that, and besides, he was barely fourteen and everyone was looking to him to keep up the family's good name. What had he been supposed to do? He'd known Katherine hated Bella, but they'd been at each others throats for so long that no one remembered why; in any case, Lia had needed looking after and Severus had been busy with his own work so when Bellatrix had offered to help him out, he'd accepted gladly. He'd thought Katherine wasn't coming back.

And now? Now he felt like he was betraying her.

Bellatrix wasn't helping matters, she kept referring to him as Ischariot or Brutus and calling him Judas instead of Julian. He supposed she was reveling in the fact that he was working for her – him, Katherine's protégé, under her control.

He supposed she hadn't quite worked out that even though he'd been young when Katherine had been arrested, he'd already learnt a lot from her; Katherine tended to teach the important things first.

He watched as Bella unlocked the door to the room Faye was in, exchanging a few words with Alexandra McKenzie who stood outside, making sure she couldn't escape, and listened to Katherine's words from their first lesson sounding clear in his head, remembering that amused look in her eyes when he'd asked exactly which side she was on because she kept saying things that he wasn't entirely sure a Death Eater as prestigious as her should be saying, and the slight quirk of one eyebrow as she'd answered him.

_"Mine, of course. Never forget that, Julian. If you can't choose – make another option. Makes things a lot simpler."_

And now here he was, letting Bellatrix destroy her reputation and pull her life apart and he was only just realising that even though he thought he'd been on his own side from day one, he'd never stood a chance - one look into those crazy blue eyes and he was on hers. He'd looked around – at Severus and Robert and Lia – and thought what fools they were for following her blindly, for believing in the myths she helped perpetuate, and all the time he'd half believed in her too.

He'd thought he was different – that she didn't own him the way she owned them. She'd never asked him to do anything for her – but now he realised she'd probably not asked the others to either. That was the thing about her – she didn't need to ask. When she was strong, she protected those she liked and when she fell apart, there was always someone there to pick her up.

If Bellatrix ever fell apart, people would just stand there and watch. Katherine would probably bring popcorn.

Before him, Bella pushed the door open triumphantly and stepped back so that Simon could see into the room. He drew nearer too, wondering if he was brave or stupid enough to try and redeem himself and get Faye out after all. He hadn't bound her hands with magic as he would have done for any other prisoner, but he hadn't dared let her go himself either; Bella would've strung him up for sure – she may not have been quite as inventive as Katherine but you didn't need an imagination to be cruel.

"Katherine?"

Bella's victorious smirk froze at the sound of Simon's voice and Julian's heart skipped a beat. It wasn't Katherine in the room, he _knew_ that, but Faye wasn't a metamorphmagus, so he couldn't see why Simon would think she was Katherine. He peered into the room as Bella dove in, marching up to where Katherine lounged against the fireplace, an amused look in her blue eyes.

"What have you done with her?" she demanded, grabbing a fistful of her robes. Katherine looked pointedly down at the fist and Bella released her, still seething. Katherine calmly smoothed out the robes and said softly:

"I presume you mean Faye?"

"You know I do, you-"

"I thought I explained all this, Bella – I'm pretending to be Faye. I-"

_"You're in France!" _growled Bella, fists clenched so tightly that her knuckles were white.

Katherine pulled at a fine gold chain hanging around her neck and dangled something in front of Bella.

"A Time Turner?" Bella asked, and Julian could tell she was shocked. So was he – this was a very smooth part Faye was playing and it didn't have Katherine's ring to it at all. This wasn't how she liked to play but it _was_ how she acted – any minute now she was going to hint to Bella that she'd let herself be captured to wind her up which would make Bella storm out of the room and forget to check it wasn't a trick. Whoever had told Faye what to do and say had taught her very well, and he was certain it hadn't been Katherine – he didn't think she knew how she acted well enough.

"How else d'you think I manage to be in two places at the same time?" Katherine grinned, blue eyes daring Bella to find fault with her explanation and that was when Julian realised who had taught her. There were only two people in the world who knew enough about Katherine to create a reasonable imitation of her in this sort of environment and one of them was him. The other was Severus.

As Faye continued her scripted taunting of Bella and Simon Carr walked off in disgust, Julian caught sight of his cousin, treading quietly up the stairs. Dark green eyes met amber ones and his cousin held back a smirk.

"Is Bella around? Lucius sent me a report he said she wanted- Oh dear, what _are_ they arguing about now?" Severus asked, pretending to only just notice the two dark haired women inside the room.

"Severus!" It was Katherine who spoke, or rather Faye. "Dad doesn't need Bella, does he? I can kill her?"

Bella scowled at these words and, snarling something indecipherable at Katherine, flounced out of room, Alexandra McKenzie hurrying after her.

Julian looked at his elder cousin thoughtfully as he suggested that Katherine go back to school because she'd been missing for nearly a day. As Faye apparated Severus turned to him and arched an eyebrow.

"What is it, Julian? You're giving me that look again." Julian smiled a little, shaking his head.

"What look, Severus?"

"_That_ one. Seriously, Ju, you were bad before you met Katherine – now sometimes I think you're turning into her." Julian smirked as Severus tossed the report he'd brought onto a desk in the musty room. "How's Ophelia?"

"All right. Daniel's been signed up."

"Yes, I heard."

"I think Katherine's trying to get him killed."

"Kill him? For cheating on Ophelia?"

"What? You don't think she would?" asked Julian, raising an eyebrow dubiously. Severus sighed, and gave him a hard look.

"Julian, do you remember what your sister was like when she was young?"

"'Course I do."

"And what she's like now?"

"Yeah."

"And you think Katherine's going to kill him for that?" He laughed, dark eyes completely black in the dim light. "Julian, she's not going to kill him, she's going to _destroy_ him." He shook his head, standing, his face gravely serious. "You know, you ought to have a think about who's side you're on, Julian, because she's fond of you, but if you pull another stunt like this, she's going to start thinking you don't like her and then nothing I can do is going to save you. So think about it, all right? Before it's too late."


	42. Branching out

**A/N:** For the purposes of this story, the wizarding paper _The Prophet_ only prints in black and white, not colour.

**x – X – x**

**Chapter 41 – Branching out**

Toby Holder awoke from dreams of dark confusion and lost memories to the sound of the alarm clock buzzing in his ear. He fumbled for the sleep button and pressed it down, lying motionless for a minute, hand still resting on the clock, mind battling desperately to hold onto that shadowed face that had haunted his dreams for as long as he could remember, but as always, the image slipped away, leaving behind only the memory of eyes the colour of sapphires.

He sighed, opening his own brown eyes and gazing tiredly up at the ceiling. He'd never mentioned the dreams to anyone; they were only dreams after all and he'd stopped having them years ago. It was only since the war had started up again that they'd come back.

He threw off the covers and stumbled along the hall to the bathroom, turning on the shower and standing under it for a few minutes to try and clear his head. He knew what the dreams were about, of course, even if he couldn't remember the exact details when he awoke, because he'd been told the story hundreds of times as he grew up.

He'd been only a few weeks old when the Death Eaters had come to his Aunt's house in a quiet part of Kent. The Aunt and her family had all been killed, and for a while everyone thought he was dead too, since he'd been staying there for the night, but then he'd turned up without so much as a scratch on him on the doorstep of an Auror.

Everyone had agreed it was mystery, but the general consensus seemed to be that it didn't pay to question good fortune so after a halfhearted investigation the matter was left alone. Toby himself would have been perfectly happy to let the matter go as well if only his nights were freed from these childhood nightmares. He wondered whether he should ask the Auror about it – the one who'd found him all those years ago. His mother had said there hadn't been a note but maybe he'd seen something, maybe he had a name to match the blue eyes. Surely it was worth a try? Anything for a decent nights sleep.

x – X – x

Harry sat in the front room of the Burrow, flicking through one of the spell books Hermione had found in Diagon Alley, half listening to the chaos going on around him. It was Halloween and someone had decided a party was just the thing to cheer everyone up a little so last minute decorations were being sorted out by anyone who had hands to spare.

Except him.

Harry shifted in the large armchair and gave up pretending to read. He couldn't feel in less of a party mood; it had now been over two months since Bill and Fleur's wedding and he still hadn't visited Godric's Hollow or his parent's graves and now it was Halloween, the anniversary of their death and he was sitting here, alone. With no one watching him. Mrs Weasley and Fleur were busy cooking – he could hear them every now and then arguing over the best way to prepare this dish or other, and everyone else was in the garden, setting up for tonight.

He glanced around the room, and then at his watch. It was nearly half eleven – surely no one would miss him if he slipped out for a couple of hours? As long as he was back before the party...

Before he could change his mind he ran upstairs to get a jumper, grabbing the invisibility cloak from his trunk as an afterthought, then hurried outside, throwing the cloak around his shoulders. Ron & Hermione could contact him if they needed to – Robert Avery had told them how to make more of those secret note papers and Hermione had spent three days enchanting a new set of three – one for each of them so they could still contact each other if they ever got separated again like they had in the underground chamber.

At the gate of the Burrow he paused and looked back at the house, wondering if he should tell someone after all. But then they'd try to stop him or insist on coming with him and he didn't want that; they were his parents – he wanted to find them on his own, so drawing his wand from his pocket, he concentrated hard on where he wanted to go and disapparated.

x – X – x

Nymphadora Tonks hummed to herself as the lift creaked and clanked its way up from Level 2 to Level 1 and the automated voice announced that she'd reached the Minister's private level. She stepped out and hurried over to the front desk, grinning at the man standing there.

"Wotcha Adrian."

Adrian Jones looked up, surprise registering in his dark brown eyes.

"Tonks? I haven't seen you in ages – how are you?"

"Fine," shrugged Tonks, slapping a folder down on the polished counter and sliding it towards him. "Updates on the escapees," she added, seeing him look questioningly at the folder.

"Is there anything to update on?" he asked, arching an eyebrow as he stuck a post it on the folder and scribbled something on it, before slipping it into a chute behind the desk. Tonks grinned at him, thinking he hadn't changed much since they'd been at school although perhaps he was a little more mature, but then again weren't they all? The war was making everyone learn to grow up very fast and yet she got the feeling that he might still be up for pulling a few pranks every now and then.

"That's classified information, I'm afraid."

"Really? So it doesn't just contain a sheet of paper saying 'we still haven't caught them', then?" asked Adrian, brown eyes glinting with mischief. She was about to reply when the programmed voice sounded again from the lift and she turned to see Mad Eye stumping out, glowering at something.

"Where's Belmont?" he asked, fixing both blue eyes on Adrian. Adrian paused for a second, seemingly on the point of asking him something, then turned abruptly and consulted the chart behind the desk.

"Out on duty."

"Out?" Mad Eye's frowned deepened; he sounded worried. "Out where?"

"Only the Minister knows that," answered Adrian, looking apologetic.

"Well he was meant to check in this morning and he didn't," growled Mad Eye. "So I suggest you find out where he is."

Adrian looked uncertain for a moment then stepped out from behind the desk and headed into a corridor leading into the depths of the level. Tonks glanced at Moody anxiously.

"D'you think Belmont's double crossing us?"

"I doubt it, he's far too loyal to Scrimgeour," said Moody in a low voice. "But I prefer to have him where I can see him."

A moment later Adrian reappeared with a dark haired man beside him who Tonks recognised from school – he'd been in her year as well, a Hufflepuff by the name of Toby Holder.

"You're looking for Ryan Belmont?" asked Toby, looking at Mad Eye, who nodded.

"You know where he is, Holder?"

"The Minister sent him out to work on public relations." Mad Eye frowned.

"Does that mean what I think it does?"

"Well if you think it means that he's scouting out Potter again, then yes," answered Toby, running a tired hand through short brown hair.

"He'll never get to him," Tonks put in hotly, scowling, but Mad Eye was shaking his head. Scrimgeour was no fool – he knew he couldn't get to Harry at the Burrow, so he was sending envoys elsewhere.

"Where is Belmont now?"

"I can't tell you that," said Toby, sighing heavily. "I'm sorry, Mad Eye."

Tonks raised an eyebrow at the informal address, and then she remembered that Moody had known Toby's surname too.

"Actually," said Toby suddenly as Mad Eye drummed his fingers on the wooden desk. "There's something I've been meaning to ask you about. Could you spare ten minutes or so? I've got a break now."

Two blue eyes fixed on Toby's innocent features and a slow smile spread across Moody's face.

"Certainly. Why don't we step outside?"

x – X – x

Harry looked down at the white marble slabs in front of him, wondering vaguely if he should have brought flowers. There was an assortment of flowers laid on the tombstones now, and even to his inexpert eye they seemed rather strange. Didn't people usually bring bouquets to lay on graves? The nine flowers that lay here seemed to be totally independent of each other. He didn't have long to ponder this thought, however, because a slight cough behind him made him glance round and he saw a short man with reddish brown hair and thin wiry spectacles looking up at him.

"Mr Potter?"

"Yes?" There was no point in lying – he couldn't hide his scar, after all.

"My name's Francis Belmont, I'm from the Ministry-"

And that was as far as he got, because at that moment two things happened. The first was that two figures appeared at the gates of cemetery and, seeing him, started to make their way purposefully towards him. One of them, Harry saw, was Moody and with him a young man in his mid twenties that he didn't recognise.

The second thing that happened was a large black bird that swooped down from the sky and began attacking the Ministry official, clawing at his face and snapping it's sharp beak so fiercely that the man stumbled backwards, tripping over the marble headstones. Harry stepped back himself as Moody and his companion hurried over. As they approached, the bird fluttered up to a tree and perched there, looking archly down at them, and Harry gazed at it, wondering if it was who it thought it was.

"Belmont," said the young man with Moody, reaching down to help the fallen man. "There's been a development on the Simmons case – Fredrick wondered if you could investigate."

"What, now?" asked Belmont, struggling to his feet.

"Well obviously clean yourself up a bit first," replied the other man, gesturing to his scratched and bleeding face. "But yes, as soon as possible."

"But-"

"Francis, we've been waiting months for-"

"All right, all right, I'm going," blustered Belmont, adjusting his glasses and looking wretchedly at Harry. Then, after a few moments hesitation, he pulled out his wand and disapparated, murmuring disconsolately under his breath.

The other man squinted up at the black bird in the sunlight, a mildly curious expression on his face.

"What is that – d'you know?" This question was addressed to Moody who grunted in the affirmative, electric blue eye spinning dizzyingly in it's socket.

"Egyptian eagle," he muttered, his normal eye swivelling to look at Harry. "You all right?"

"Fine," said Harry, glancing up at the bird again. Moody didn't ask what he was doing there alone, but Harry had the feeling this was only because he was preoccupied with something else, and sure enough a moment later he growled:

"All right, where are you?" The young man stopped his inspection of the eagle and glanced worriedly at him.

"What?" Moody ignored him, and gripped his wand.

"I know you're there, so you may as well-"

And then his eye stopped turning and focused on a point just behind and above Harry. Harry felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up and turned around sharply to see a woman standing there, gazing at Moody with something like amusement in her blue eyes.

"Ambushing people in graveyards now, are we? Well I must say this is stooping rather low, even for the Ministry."

Harry stared at her, then up at the bird, still perched proudly on the thick branch high above. If the creature wasn't Katherine, why on earth had it attacked that man?

"What are you doing here, Riddle?" asked Moody, wand raised cautiously. Katherine's expression was all innocence.

"Paying my respects." She held up a single tulip, blue-purple petals folded together and smiled, eyes losing their playful air. "You going to arrest me, Alastor?"

"What do you think?"

"I think that'd be highly unfair," answered Katherine, laying the flower down amongst the others on the Potters' grave.

"Unfair?"

"Well for one thing, I'm unarmed."

"And for the other?" interjected the young man, pointing his wand at her chest.

"It's her birthday," supplied Moody, lowering his wand to Harry and the stranger's great surprise. "Why haven't you got your wand?"

"It's armistice day."

"What?" The man standing next to Moody stared at her in bewilderment.

"It means truce," said Katherine, looking at him for the first time, an insane little smile playing round her lips and at the sight of it, Harry grinned, thinking that this was the first time she'd looked normal since they'd destroyed the horcrux. The man just stared at her and she frowned slightly and turned her attention back to Moody who said:

"Armistice day isn't for another week."

"That's for a muggle war," said Katherine calmly. "This is for our war."

"Riddle, there's no such thing as Armistice day for our war," replied Moody in a weary voice. Katherine just shrugged.

"There is for us."

Harry glanced down at the flowers laid on his parents' grave and she smiled faintly at him. One flower from each person who respected this strange truce, he supposed, and it made him wonder who exactly they were. So far he counted ten different flowers including hers, and if they were all put on one grave, there couldn't be that many people involved.

Up in the tree, the Egyptian eagle ruffled it's feathers and Harry saw Katherine glance up at it questioningly then look sharply at Moody's companion who was still staring at her with an unnerved expression on his face.

"What?" she asked slowly, narrowing her eyes and shifting uncertainly. The man didn't answer, looking as suspicious as Katherine did and Harry, not having the faintest idea what was going on looked at Moody and consequently saw what the other two missed; Moody was looking worried.

With a rush of wings, the eagle launched itself off the branch and swept down to Katherine's shoulder, looking haughtily at the stranger.

"It's yours?" asked the man, surprise overcoming whatever it was that had stilled his tongue before.

"It's a he," answered Katherine, as the bird tilted his head to one side, inspecting the man with one dark intelligent eye. "His name is Archimedes and yes, he's mine, what of it?"

"He attacked Belmont-" began the man, then stopped mid-sentence as he realised why. "That's _cheating_." Katherine grinned at him, hands shoved deep into her jeans pockets.

"Why?"

"You're not allowed to fight or whatever so you get your eagle to do it for you!" said the man, pointing an accusing finger at her.

"Three things," said Katherine mildly, blue eyes gazing at the man with something like cautious interest. "One – he did it of his own volition – it's not my fault he can read my feelings and tends to act on them; two – why are you standing here discussing ethics with a convicted murderer and Azkaban escapee when you're quite clearly from the Ministry and probably want me dead, and three – why are you looking so uncomfortable?" This last question was addressed to Moody who started, looking slightly guilty.

"You protected him," said the man quietly, gesturing towards Harry. "Why did you do that?" Katherine looked at him, a small frown creasing her forehead.

"I asked first."

"And I answered," said the man, brown eyes searching hers. "You're supposed to be a criminal but you drove Belmont away. I want to know why." Katherine narrowed her eyes and Harry could almost see the wheels turning in her head.

"You know, don't you? You know Belmont's a Death Eater."

"He's a what?" asked Harry, staring at her. Katherine glanced at him, looking mildly amused.

"Well if you insist on turning up unaccompanied to remote locations, you can hardly blame people for targeting you."

"But I was visiting my parents' graves," said Harry angrily and she nodded.

"Which is why Archimedes went for him. It's not very respectful."

"Oh come off it," said the man, shaking his head. "What's a bird going to do to an armed wizard?"

"I'd like to have seen him hex Potter with his eyes pecked out," answered Katherine shortly, scowling at him.

"He could have hexed the bird, then Potter," argued the man, apparently not prepared to concede his point.

"Wouldn't have done any good," put in Moody. "That bird can't die; it's life is tied to hers and as long as she lives, it won't fall."

"Like a phoenix?" asked Harry, casting a dubious eye over the bird.

"Not exactly; they don't rejuvenate themselves like phoenixes do," said Katherine quietly. "If you AK a phoenix, it'll die and come back as baby; AK an Egyptian eagle and it just absorbs the spell. You could drop a house on it and it'll get squashed but as soon as you lift the weight off it, it'll get up and fly around, good as new." She grinned at him. "Strange but true."

"Have you tried?" asked Harry, unable to think of anything else to say. Katherine gave him an odd look.

"Potter, that's just cruel."

"How can you call him cruel when you're a Death Eater," objected the man and Katherine looked at him, something like understanding in her bright eyes.

"Did we kill your family? Close friend? Relative?" She tilted her head slightly, surveying him. "Because you hate me, don't you? I mean really _hate_ me and I don't even know you-"

"Don't you?"

Katherine stopped, immediately on guard and Harry thought that if she'd had her wand, it would have been in her hand in an instant. Then she looked from Moody to the man and back again, blue eyes narrowed warily.

"Should I?" she ventured at last, looking uncertainly at him. This was evidently the wrong thing to say because the man bristled, his scowl deepening and Harry saw Archimedes shift on Katherine's shoulder restlessly. "What's your name?" she asked, reaching up a hand to settle the bird's uneasiness.

"Toby."

"Surname," she said, frowning and casting a quick glance at Moody who was looking decidedly unsettled.

"Holder," said Toby, folding his arms challengingly. Katherine was quiet for a moment, drumming her fingers idly on the side of her leg.

"Nope, never killed a Holder."

"You know the name of every person you've killed?"

"Why is that so very hard to believe?" asked Katherine archly, and Toby looked at Moody, who shrugged noncommittally.

"She probably does."

"And you think that makes killing them more honourable or something?" asked Toby, fingers flexing around his wand.

"There's nothing honourable about murder," said Katherine soberly and Toby paused in his seething to look at her. "It's not just that I'm a Death Eater, is it? You hate _me_, don't you, only you weren't looking at me like that five minutes ago. So tell me, what did I do to you, Toby Holder, because you'd would've been, what six or so, when I went to Azkaban?"

Toby muttered something through gritted teeth and though Harry didn't make out what it was, he saw Katherine's reaction.

"You _don't know_? You hate me and you don't know _why_?" asked Katherine incredulously, staring at him. Toby looked up, face flushed.

"You were at my Aunt's house the night she died."

"And I killed her?"

"I don't know, I was only a baby."

"And yet you know I was there?" said Katherine slowly, appearing to consider this. After a moment she looked at Moody and gave him a bright smile. "Is he committed?"

"He's not mad, Katherine," said Moody gently, and Katherine threw him a look that displayed precisely what she thought of that sentiment and then Harry saw her hesitate and look suspiciously at Toby who stared back resolutely.

"How old are you?" she asked quietly, in a voice little more than a whisper and for some reason Harry thought he saw a trace of something akin to fear in her bright eyes. Toby shifted under her gaze and frowned, dark eyes flickering uncertainly before he answered.

"Twenty four."


	43. Eye of the storm

**A/N:** In honour of Douglas Adams, you're going to get some answers in this chapter.

**x - X - x**

**Chapter 42 – Eye of the storm**

There was a long pause and then Katherine ran her hand through her hair and looked uncomfortably at Moody.

"What?" asked Toby, frowning at them. "What do you know?"

Katherine was silent, arms wrapped around her chest, face closed, so Toby turned to Moody, eyes searching his face.

"You're hiding something. You said you didn't know anything about that night – you said you didn't know who attacked them. Is that true?" he demanded, brown eyes earnest. Moody looked at Katherine, but getting no reaction, turned back to Toby.

"I never knew for sure," he said quietly. "And you'll just have to believe me when I say there are reasons I didn't tell the Ministry everything that happened-"

"That happened?" Toby was shocked now. "You know what hap-"

"Not at the house, no," broke in Moody. "I wasn't there – I was at home. I never knew who murdered your Aunt's family; the first time I knew that anything was amiss was when someone knocked on my door at eight in the evening and I opened the it and there you were. So you see, I told the truth – you were left on my doorstep; I just never told anyone that someone was holding you at the time."

"Someone..." Toby repeated faintly, then he looked sharply at Katherine who gazed back blandly. "You." Katherine smiled bitterly, a trace of sadness in her eyes.

"Sorry."

"But-" began Toby, his scowl fading to a look of bewilderment. "Why? And why didn't you tell anyone?" he added, looking accusingly at Moody.

"As I said, I had my reasons," answered Moody gruffly, and Harry saw him shoot a quick glance at Katherine who looked away.

"But she was at the house," said Toby, angry now. "The Ministry could have hauled her in and-"

"No they couldn't." Toby stopped short at the interruption and Katherine smiled sourly. "I was a minor and they didn't have any proof I'd done anything wrong. Besides, Alastor did tell someone – he told Dumbledore." She gazed mildly at Moody, who was frowning. "You must have done, because he called me up to his office the next day and gave me one of those 'it's not too late' speeches. I just stared blankly at him till he let me go, if I remember correctly. Never did understand why he didn't just give up."

"He thought you could change," answered Moody. "You could have met him halfway."

"After what he did? No chance."

"He was only doing what he thought was best and you know that," growled Moody, as Harry stared at Katherine in bewilderment.

"And who gave him the right to decide what was best for me?" retorted Katherine, angry now. "He was the one who decided to keep quiet so I don't see why he had any right to interfere when everything went wrong."

"He was trying to help, Riddle."

"He was poking his nose around where it wasn't wanted," spat back Katherine, scowling.

"He was a good man," rumbled Moody, countenance just as dark as hers.

"I never said he wasn't," replied Katherine, blue eyes flashing. "But that doesn't mean I have to be nice about him."

"You didn't like Dumbledore?" asked Harry, staring at her uncertainly. She glanced at him and rolled her eyes.

"Oh come on, I've killed how many people and you're holding _that_ against me?"

Harry just looked at her, realising for the first time exactly how little he knew about her; he knew she was useful to have around in a crisis, that Remus loved her like a sister and that she was extraordinarily clever, but he didn't know anything about her as a person. He'd put his life in her hands so many times already and yet he didn't think he could trust her at all. Unsummoned, Remus' words came back to him, sitting at a rough wooden table, about to look into Katherine's makeshift pensieve.

_"Trust you? With my life, yes. With this, not exactly, no."_

Was this the same thing? He could trust Katherine to protect him because she needed him alive and he could hope she told him what he needed to know, but any more than that was out of his control.

"Why did you never say anything?" he asked, glaring at her. Katherine raised an eyebrow appraisingly.

"You never asked and it wasn't important."

"Wasn't important?!"

"No. He's dead, Potter. Why on earth should I bring it up?"

"He's only dead because Snape murdered him," shouted Harry, fists clenched. "I suppose you're best pals, aren't you? You just sit there discussing how the world's a better place without him." Katherine looked at him and Harry glowered back, too angry to be scared by the fury burning behind those sapphire eyes.

"Severus didn't murder Dumbledore."

Harry almost gaped at her.

"I _saw_ him do it, Katherine."

"I didn't say he didn't kill him, I said it wasn't murder," said Katherine, voice remaining calm despite the hostility in her gaze. "They're not the same thing."

"Where's the difference?" asked Harry scornfully.

"It's not murder if they ask you to do it."

There was silence as three pairs of eyes stared at her, utterly stunned, then Moody said very quietly:

"What?"

"He asked him," said Katherine softly, gaze never moving from Harry's.

"No," said Harry, shaking his head. "You're lying. He wouldn't do that – he wouldn't get himself killed, he wouldn't."

"No? Tell me Harry, if he was still alive, what would you be doing right now?"

"What's that got to do with anything?" asked Harry, staring at her.

"Everything. As long as he was alive, you were always going to be relying on him – he die, had to leave you on your own because it was the only way you were ever going to learn to look after yourself. Why d'you think he told you everything he knew before he died? You didn't think that was chance, did you?"

"He wouldn't," said Harry again, though there was a trace of doubt in his voice.

"He did," said Katherine shortly. "Denial won't change that."

"No, you're just making this up to spite him," said Harry angrily. "You hated him and you're just trying to-"

"To what? What possible reason could I have for lying?" asked Katherine archly. "It makes no difference to me what you think of him, but I won't have you blaming Severus for something he never wanted to do." Harry was about to shout something back at her when he realised exactly what it was she was saying and his eyes widened in horror.

"You've been talking to him, haven't you? You've been consorting with Snape this whole time."

"What I do in my own time is my business, Potter," replied Katherine, blue eyes hard, and Harry took this as an affirmative. "If you don't believe me about Dumbledore, that's your problem, but it's the truth." Harry just looked at her in disgust and shook his head.

"Katherine, what have you been up to?" asked Moody softly in the quiet that followed. "How is it that you two are so well acquainted?"

"That would be none of your business, Alastor," answered Katherine, smoothly, fixing him with a sweet smile and blazing eyes.

"Potter?" Moody tried, but Harry just shook his head, too angry to speak. Katherine glanced at him and then turned on her heel and walked away through the rows of gravestones. Moody watched her for a moment, then turned to Harry. "Come on, I'll take you back to the Burrow. Molly'll be tearing the place down trying to find you."

Harry half thought about objecting, about running after Katherine and demanding to know why she'd said those things but he suddenly felt tied and empty and found it was easier to just let Moody guide him out of the cemetery and back home.

Toby Holder watched them leave then looked back at the figure lounging against a tree on the other side of the graveyard, her black hair fluttering in the wind. He should go back to the Ministry, should just leave and go back to his job, but he couldn't. He had to know what had happened that night, had to know why she'd saved him. If he walked away now, he'd always regret it.

She didn't even look up as he approached, just stood there, gazing at the black marble headstone before her. He glanced at it and read the epitaph, embossed in glimmering silver letters:

_**Regulus Black  
Beloved friend and brother  
Gone but not forgotten**_

"Friend of yours?" he asked, with more courage than he felt.

"Yeah," she murmured, sighing deeply. Then: "Moody's got his reasons, you know."

"So he said." She looked at him, blue eyes clearer than they'd ever been in his dreams and raised an eyebrow slightly.

"I was sixteen."

"What?"

"When I found you – I was sixteen; he was trying to protect me - him and Dumbledore both." She sighed again, leaning heavily against the tree. "Only I didn't want their help. I thought I was grown up enough to manage on my own and I suppose I did, for the most part."

"But?" asked Toby, pulling his cloak a little tighter against the cold.

"How much do you know about me? I mean, you work at the Ministry and you obviously realised I was a Death Eater but then you suddenly decided you knew me, so what do you know?"

"You're Katherine Riddle," said Toby carefully. "You're forty years old and have escaped from just about every trap the Ministry's ever set for you, except for the ambush at Morgoth End. Your adoptive muggle parents were murdered when you were seventeen and after Hogwarts you worked at the Ministry as an Unspeakable for five years. No one knows when you joined, but you're a Death Eater and you were caught when you were twenty two and sent to Azkaban for a list of crimes so long we've got an entire cabinet devoted to you. Rumour has it that you're the stuff of legends among Death Eaters."

Katherine smiled, blue eyes dancing with amusement.

"For entirely the wrong reasons, I assure you."

"Why do you call Moody by his first name?" asked Toby, gazing at her with interest. He still wasn't sure what he thought of her, though he wasn't inclined to trust her an inch.

"We've known each other a long time," she answered. "Since I was...seven? Yes, I think that's right. I called him a transvestite and we've been enemies ever since." She laughed at his expression and grinned. "You think I'm joking, don't you?"

"I don't know what to think. What happened that night?" Katherine was silent for a moment, considering her answer, then she shrugged.

"I was part of a party of four sent to kill the family. Your Uncle had been speaking out against the Dark Lord and he wanted him silenced, only if you want to get your message across, it isn't enough to just kill them – you have to destroy them and to do that you murder those they love." She paused for a second and he frowned slightly, remembering that her own parents had been killed a year after she'd saved him; he wondered what she'd done.

"Anyway," she continued briskly. "We got to the house and Trix was doing her bit and then I used Legilimency on your Aunt – trying it out, because I'd only just learnt it – and all she was thinking about was you – praying that you'd keep quiet and we wouldn't bother to look upstairs. Well the others weren't paying much attention to me, I was the youngest out of the four of us and they all knew I was mental so it wasn't hard to slip out when they were discussing what to do. I found you asleep in a cot upstairs."

She looked at him, sapphire eyes sharp and bright. "You know, I nearly just killed you; the state I was in I probably wouldn't even have cared. You were just a baby – what did your life matter and why on earth should I risk mine to save you? And then you woke up and looked at me and _smiled_ and I just couldn't do it. I'd been blocking everything out for months by that time, pretending I didn't care about anything, learning to tune out my emotions but you can't fight your nature like that without serious repercussions and I was driving myself crazy trying to cope.

"I'd been terrified for so long I'd forgotten what it was like to be safe and happy and then there's this tiny baby beaming up at me like I'm the best thing it's ever seen and all those walls I'd built up to try and protect myself with just fell apart; I wanted out. I always knew what I was doing was wrong – that was why I was so messed up and looking down at you in that cot, I just decided enough was enough so I picked you up and went downstairs and left. The others were in the lounge with the family and they hadn't missed me, so I just walked out the door and kept going."

"And ended up at Moody's house?" asked Toby, watching her closely as the breeze rustled though the leaves of the trees around them.

"I didn't know what I was doing – I can't remember most of that year I was so out of it all the time, but I knew where his house was and it was the only place I could go. I didn't want to take you to Dumbledore and I couldn't take you to the Ministry – there'd be too many questions, so I went to Alastor. When he answered the door I just held you out and he took you and then I turned and walked away, went back to school and waited for the others to come back."

"Others?"

"Other – only Wilkes was still at school then."

"Leon Wilkes? He was there?"

"Yes, and Bellatrix Lestrange," agreed Katherine soberly, blue eyes gazing coolly at him.

"That's three – who's the fourth?" asked Toby, gazing resolutely back.

"A man called Jason Brookes; he's been dead for over two decades."

Toby nodded; he'd heard of him – he'd died making an assassination attempt on Millicent Bagnold who'd been Minister of Magic at the time.

"He fell down a life shaft, didn't he?" Toby asked and Katherine arched an eyebrow.

"You've done your research."

"That attack destroyed my family," answered Toby, looking steadily at her. "The Aunt was my mother's sister and Mum fell apart when was killed. Dad says that if I hadn't been saved, she might have died of grief. Dad had to stop work to look after her and me, and now Mum's in Saint Mungo's and Dad's too old to get another job. I joined the Ministry to help fight Death Eaters, only Dad didn't want me to be an Auror in case I got killed and he was left alone, so I became an administrator. I work in the Minster's private office and I really should be calling the Aurors in on you right now. You're the epitome of everything I'm supposed to hate."

"And yet you're not," noted Katherine, tilting her head and looking curiously at him. "For which I suppose I should be grateful."

"You saved my life."

"You saved my sanity; I'd say that makes us even."

Toby frowned at her, wondering why he still couldn't decide what to make of her. She freely admitted that she was a Death Eater and that she'd nearly killed him without a second thought and yet...and yet she'd told him that. She was honest and fair and that didn't fit at all.

"Did you get into trouble?"

"What?"

"When Wilkes came back. You said you just walked out and left them – did you get into trouble?" asked Toby, thinking, after all she'd said, that he should really be more afraid of her, even if she didn't have her wand.

"Not really; I'd wandered off before when I was supposed to be on a mission, so he was used to it - don't give me that look, I'm being serious. I told you, I was crazy, I didn't know where I was half the time. When Leon came back he asked me where I'd gone and I just glared at him and he went away. I think he'd learnt not to annoy me by then." She smiled, shrugging a little at his expression.

"Did Moody know you were a Death Eater before you turned up with me?"

"No – I think he suspected something – Dumbledore did at least and he was bound to have told him, but neither of them knew for sure."

"So you blew your cover in giving me in?" asked Toby, eyes studying her closely.

"It's not that big a deal," said Katherine easily, stretching in the sunlight. "I wasn't entirely grounded in reality at the time."

"And yet he protected you?"

"He was on good terms with my parents and like I said, he probably thought I could be reached. Well I could, only not by him or Dumbledore. I sorted myself out after that night and got back to a reasonable level of sanity. I stopped trying to block things out, accepted what had happened and moved on."

She smiled, but briefly and he knew he wasn't going to get anymore out of her. She'd probably only told him this much because she thought she owed him an explanation, and perhaps she just wanted to get it off her chest, but that was it. He didn't have any greater claim to know more about her and he found with an unsettled feeling that he was disappointed; he wanted to know more, wanted to find out what she like.

"Can I ask you something?" she said suddenly and he looked at her, surprised.

"What?"

"Why, when you seem to know so much about me and who I was, did you not say immediately that I'd killed your Aunt?"

He looked at her curious expression and, feeling slightly embarrassed, said: "I'd only ever seen black and white photos of you, and then you looked at me, and...it was your eyes; I've never seen any others like them and I knew I remembered them from somewhere. I couldn't think of anywhere else I could have known them from."

"Fair enough," said Katherine, smiling faintly. "And now what are you going to do Toby Holder?"

"Do?"

"Well how do you know someone hasn't seen you with me? If you go back to the Ministry, you might be accused of consorting with Death Eaters, and even if that doesn't happen, how do you know I won't come after you?" she asked, and Toby couldn't tell whether or not she was joking.

"I can look after myself at work," he answered carefully. "And you won't come after me."

"Why not? I said we were even; I don't owe you anything." Toby looked at her, at those shrewd blue eyes and decided to take a chance.

"You do owe me," he said evenly. "You value your sanity more than my life, so the odds are still tipped in my favour. I saved your life – you just let me live. They're not the same thing."

Katherine gazed coolly at him for a moment, then laughed, sapphire eyes glinting with amusement. "And how do you suppose we remedy this imbalance? According to you, I am still in your debt."

"Just carry on as we did before," said Toby simply. "You let me live. Deal?"

Katherine looked at him, still seeming highly amused, then held out her hand for him to shake.

"Deal."

They shook hands and then Toby nodded to her and apparated back to the Ministry, hoping there wouldn't be too many awkward questions awaiting him. Katherine stood under the tree for a little while longer, smiling faintly to herself.

At length, Archimedes glided down from the branch he'd been sitting on to keep watch and squawked a greeting. She grinned and stroked his head gently.

"He's got some cheek, I'll give him that," she murmured. Archimedes made an affirmative sound and she sighed heavily, thinking back to what she'd said to Harry. That stuff about Dumbledore probably hadn't been the best thing to say; quite possibly it ranked up there on the list of the top ten absolute worst things to say, but there was no helping that now.

He was always going to hate Severus and she didn't blame him for that, but she'd had to at least try and make him see sense. Severus hadn't wanted Dumbledore dead, he owed him everything he had, but he'd asked and Severus couldn't have refused. Just like she couldn't have refused Regulus. They'd both done what they had to because there was no one else who could have done it. She knew full well that if it had been anyone else with Regulus when Bellatrix arrived that day he wouldn't have asked them; the others wouldn't have understood, would have looked for another way out when there wasn't one.

She looked resignedly at the black marble headstone that marked his grave and wished things could have been different. But they weren't and you had to play with the cards fate dealt you; she only hoped she lived long enough to keep Severus safe. If he ever met up with Harry again, one of them was going to get hurt, and if Harry killed Severus...

She shook her head, shivering in the brisk wind. She knew he could do it, despite what Severus thought; if Potter was given the opportunity, he would avenge Dumbledore. She couldn't let that happen; if Potter murdered Severus, she'd kill him, Prophecy be damned.

--------------------

Before anyone asks why Lucius Malfoy doesn't appear to have been at Toby's Aunt's house, I would like to point out that Katherine, for all her claims to the contrary, does not always tell the truth. She is lying; I leave it up to you to muse on why.


	44. Masquerade

**Chapter 43 – Masquerade**

Severus sat at Nicola's kitchen table, absently turning the small package before him over and over in careful fingers. It had been just over two weeks since he'd left Katherine in Lucius' care and apart from the short letter from his friend saying they'd both arrived safely, there'd been no word, and now it was Halloween and she still wasn't back...

Suddenly he glanced up, aware of someone's gaze on him, and met a pair of very familiar blue eyes looking back.

"Katherine," he whispered, the small parcel dropping unheeded from his hands. She smiled slightly and just stood there, leaning casually against the doorjamb, watching him with calm blue eyes. He realised he was staring and shook his head, embarrassed. "How long have you been there?"

"About a minute," she replied, detaching herself from the wall and moving to sit opposite him, an amused look on her face. She picked up one of the parcels that was sitting on the table and read the label.

"An owl dropped it off this morning," explained Severus, seeing her confused expression. He handed over his own small package with an attempt at a smile. "Happy birthday."

Katherine shot a suspicious look at him, then appeared to shake herself and smiled.

"Thanks." She paused, his gift lying forgotten for a moment in her hand and looked seriously at him. "For everything. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Go insane?" asked Severus lightly, face studiously impassive. Katherine looked sharply at him, then grinned wickedly, looking more herself than she had done for ages.

"Right," she laughed, tearing the paper off his present and opening the velvet box it had concealed. Lying on the dark green cushion inside was a heavy silver bracelet, designed to look like a snake. She picked it up, gazing at the intricate patterns engraved on the delicate scales in awe.

"It's supposed to turn gold when there's someone untrustworthy about," said Severus, watching her closely. "I thought it might come in useful."

Katherine looked up at him, an odd expression on her face, but all she said was: "Thank you. I love it."

There was the click of heels in the hallway and Nicola walked in, carrying a large pile of folders which she nearly dropped at the sight of Katherine.

"You're back!" she exclaimed, hurriedly shoving the folders onto the kitchen counter and beaming at her friend. "How are you?"

"Much better," answered Katherine, slipping the bracelet onto her arm and grinning at her. "Aren't you supposed to be at work?"

"Lunch break," replied Nicola, grabbing a bottle of tonic water from the fridge and coming to sit down beside her. "Happy birthday, by the way. Cass is hosting a Halloween party tonight – we weren't sure if you were going to be back, but since you are-"

"Nicola, I can't go to a party full of Ministry officials," said Katherine, giving her a look that was torn between amusement and exasperation.

"It's masquerade ball," said Severus quietly, and when she looked at him, she saw he was grinning. "See, we thought if you _were_ back, you might need cheering up a bit and since there's nothing you like better than winding the Aurors up..."

"You thought you'd arrange a party where I could walk around right under their noses without anyone being any the wiser?" finished Katherine, arching an eyebrow.

"Precisely," said Nicola happily, grinning and peering at the carefully wrapped parcel on the table. "Who's that from?"

Katherine glanced at the parcel and seemed to hesitate for a second, a slight frown creasing her forehead.

"Ophelia probably," said Severus, studying the note attached to it. "Looks like her handwriting."

"By which you mean it looks female," said Nicola, laughing despite her scorn. Severus shrugged, half smiling, and looked at Katherine who was watching him, eyes narrowed slightly.

"I think I know my own cousin's handwriting by now, Nicola," said Severus, pushing himself up from the table to put the kettle on.

"Yes," murmured Katherine, gazing pensively down at the parcel before her. "You'd think you would."

"So, are you coming tonight?" asked Nicola, after a short pause. Katherine glanced up, jolted out of her musings.

"Tonight? Oh, the party." She appeared to think about it for a second, then shrugged, a lazy smile curving her lips. "Sure. Why the hell not?"

x – X – x

"Harry?"

Harry didn't look up as the door opened a few inches and Lupin's head appeared round it.

"What's the armistice?" he asked, staring down at the photograph before him. He heard Lupin sigh and come further into the room.

"Our year lost a lot of people in the last war; we thought we should mark it." Harry looked up at him, green eyes blazing.

"Slytherins too?"

"Yes," said Lupin quietly, looking calmly back at him. "They lost friends as well – some of them lost themselves."

"Like Katherine?" Lupin's eyes narrowed slightly, but he shook his head.

"You have to know yourself to lose yourself, Harry. Katherine's never stopped long enough to do that."

"She's mental," muttered Harry, scowling and flipping a page in the photo album Hagrid had given him. He wondered absently how Hagrid was getting on; maybe he should pay him a visit.

"Moody told me what she said about Snape," said Lupin gently and Harry looked up at him again.

"Do you believe her?"

"I don't know. I can't see why she'd lie, but-" Lupin shrugged, seeming a little lost.

"But what?" asked Harry, frowning. What was making Lupin doubt someone he usually had so much faith in?

"She might have her own agenda," said Lupin noncommittally, brown eyes not quite avoiding but still not meeting Harry's.

"Such as?"

"She's a Slytherin, Harry," Lupin sighed, running a distracted hand through his hair. "She's bound to try and protect her old friends."

_"Friends?"_ Harry was incredulous. "She was friends with Snape?"

"Oh yes," said Lupin in a weary voice. "That was one of the main reasons James didn't trust her."

"He was right," said Harry firmly, scowling at this new revelation.

"You think so? She never betrayed Sirius, Harry, never betrayed any of us, against all expectations I might add. I think even Dumbledore was surprised at that."

"Maybe she did it to spite him," muttered Harry, still glowering.

"Maybe," smiled Lupin. "I certainly wouldn't put it past her; they never did get along."

"Why?"

"Because she blamed him," answered Lupin softly, gazing inscrutably at Harry.

"For what?"

"That's her business." Harry scowled at him, shutting the photo album and sitting up, assessing the information.

"Was she justified?"

"In blaming him? Maybe, maybe not. Only she can be the true judge of that – it was her life his decisions affected, but I know one thing for sure: she'll never quite forgive him."

"Tarnishing his memory is a pretty good way to get revenge," said Harry sourly. "Now that he's not around to defend himself."

"Katherine never wanted Dumbledore harmed, Harry," said Lupin firmly. "She would have fought to protect him if it came down to it, despite what she may have thought of him."

"How do you know?" asked Harry, crossing his arms and glaring at Lupin. "She's probably glad he's dead – probably laughs about it with Snape-"

"No," cut in Lupin, frowning deeply. "She may have disliked him, hated him even, but she did not want him dead. She wouldn't harm the man who gave me an education, a job, when no one else would. Dumbledore helped Sirius after Azkaban and he was as determined to bring down Voldemort as she is. They were on the same side, they just didn't agree how to fight."

"Then why is she friends with Severus?" asked Harry quietly, voice full of anger. "If she didn't want Dumbledore dead, why is she friends with his murderer? Snape tried to get all of you expelled when you were at school, he lost you your job and he taunted Sirius all the time at Grimmauld Place. She can't forgive Dumbledore whatever he did, but she can forgive Snape all that? Why?"

Lupin heaved a heavy sigh and shook his head, as though he couldn't quite fathom it himself.

"Because she's Katherine."

x – X – x

"Katherine?" The voice was soft and slightly nervous. Katherine didn't move but glanced nonchalantly into the darkness among the trees. The lights streaming out of the large windows of the Avery's mansion cast long shadows across the grounds and in the midst of these she made out the figure of a man.

"Good evening Julian."

"Not at the Halloween feast?" he asked, moving towards her with a lazy half smirk on his face.

"Is that a problem?"

"Of course not." Julian smiled, though there was something Katherine didn't like in his eyes. "I'm sorry for the other week."

Katherine looked at him for a moment, face carefully blank. What on earth was he going on about? To buy some time, she arched an eyebrow and half smiled at him, getting the unnerving feeling that he was trying to trip her up.

"Really? I didn't think you did apologies."

"Well I think I owe you one. I should have helped her."

Katherine frowned, eyes boring into his. Helped her? Helped who? The only female friends she had were safe, they were all here- Realisation trickled like an ice cube down her spine and she stared at her old protegee.

Faye. She'd been away for over two weeks and not once had she thought of her cousin, convinced that her threats would be enough to keep her out of harms way, but of course threats only worked on rational people and she was dealing with Bellatrix Lestrange, an insane woman who not only hated her but wasn't scared of her either.

"What's she done with her?" she asked, wishing she had her wand with her. Damn Armistice day, Bella was going to pay for this.

"Faye's fine, Katherine. She's at Hogwarts. Managed to trick everyone into thinking she was you." Julian smiled weakly at her incredulous look. He paused for a moment, looking uneasy. "You know, don't you?"

"About Bella?" asked Katherine, a touch of distaste in her voice. "Yes."

"Sorry." Katherine laughed, smiling sourly.

"I never trusted you further than I could throw you, Ju, you know that. Still, if you were going to play traitor you could have done much better than her. Carr would have taken you on, I'm sure. He never has liked me all that much."

"Never liked me, either," said Julian softly, a sigh in his voice. "Probably because I was trained by you."

"Well if Bella can overlook that rather major flaw, I'm sure Simon could rise above it," shrugged Katherine, leaning against the rough bark of a tree and looking sideways at him. "I suppose that was why she took you in? To spite me?"

"Of course."

"Did it work?"

Julian frowned, confused. "Shouldn't I be the one asking that?"

"Do you like Bella?" asked Katherine, tilting her head to study him. Julian stared at her, one half of her face illuminated by the warm lights from the house, the other thrown into shadow.

"Not particularly."

"Do you respect her?"

"No."

"Then it didn't work," shrugged Katherine, moving again so that her face was obscured by shadow. "You may not like me, Ju, but I know you respect me. I'd only be hurt if you were actually loyal to her, but you're not. You're not loyal to anyone."

"Neither are you."

"No?"

"You haven't told Severus you have a cousin," said Julian, folding his arms challengingly. "If you had, you would have known what I was talking about earlier, because he would have filled you in. The fact that he didn't means he doesn't want you to know he knows."

Katherine frowned for a moment, trying to work out exactly what he'd said, then she stared at him, Severus' behaviour that morning suddenly making sense. He'd known the package was from Faye, and he'd covered for her in front of Nicola.

"Severus knows about Faye?"

"Someone gave her Polyjuice and told her all that stuff about you," said Julian easily, gazing at her. "And he spoke to Faye after she'd taken the Polyjuice, and I know he could tell it wasn't you. He knows you better than anyone else in the world, even better than Moody and he's studied your case profile thousands of times. So you're not loyal to Severus, and if you're not true to him, I hardly think you'd be loyal to anyone else."

Katherine just looked at him, eyes inscrutable in the darkness. "My what?"

"Case profile. They've got people at the Ministry who try and figure out how criminals think-"

"People have been trying to figure out how I think?"

"Yes," nodded Julian, trying not to smile at her perplexed expression.

"What have they come up with?"

"About thirty pages of highly sophisticated nonsense. I think they're mostly of the opinion that you're totally devoid of morals, disturbingly intelligent and absolutely crazy."

"That's not true," said Katherine hotly, scowling at him. "I am not totally devoid of morals."

"Your record suggests otherwise."

"You shouldn't judge a person by the worst thing they've ever done," said Katherine darkly, as a shadow fell across the grass.

"Julian? Are you down here?"

A man with blond hair and dark brown eyes peered into the gloom and Julian stepped forward.

"I'm here, Philip."

The other man grinned, shaking his head in bemusement.

"Schofield said he thought he'd seen you head down here, but I thought he must have imagined it. What on earth are you up to?"

"Just getting some fresh air," answered Julian amicably, walking towards his friend. "Did you want something?"

"Ophelia was looking for you," said Philip, falling into step as they made their way up the slope back towards the house. He treated Julian to a politely puzzled look. "She wanted to know if you'd found her cat."

Julian shook his head, a pensive look in his eyes. "Not yet."

"So she did have one? Only I mentioned it to Dan and he looked at me like I was mental."

"Oh, it exists," assured Julian, amber eyes glimmering in the cold night air. "It's just damn hard to track down."

"So Daniel's just being his usual dopey self, then," said Philip, sighing theatrically. Julian smiled faintly as Philip continued talking about someone at the party and concentrated on resisting the urge to turn around and look back towards the dark trees. Katherine wouldn't be there; here one minute, gone the next, that was Katherine all over. He almost felt sorry for Moody; if her own side could never find her, what chance did an Auror have?

x – X – x

"I was wondering when you'd turn up," sighed Remus, wiping his hands on a towel and turning round to face his old friend. "How did you get through the wards?"

"Wards?" Katherine looked almost surprised. "There are wards?" Remus gave her an appraising look and she shrugged. "Does it matter? I'm not doing any harm."

"Apart from corrupting Harry, you mean."

"I am not corrupting Harry," objected Katherine, hoisting herself up to sit on the table and glancing around the cluttered kitchen. "What are you doing, anyway?"

"Washing up." Katherine arched an eyebrow and Remus got the nasty feeling she was suppressing a smile.

"Rem, it's barely eleven. The dishes can probably wait till tomorrow. I bet everyone else still outside having fun, aren't they?"

"What if they are?" asked Remus, frowning deeply.

"Shouldn't you be out there too? With your girlfriend?"

"Tonks is on duty; the Minister's called in most of the Aurors in case your lot make an attack." He sighed, running a weary hand over his face. "Are they going to?"

"Don't know. I only got back today," answered Katherine, casting a glance towards the back door of the Burrow. "Is Alastor on duty?"

"Yes." Remus paused, looking properly at his friend for the first time. "Why did you go away? Nicola said something happened."

"You talked to Nic?"

"I was trying to find you."

"Because of Faye?" Katherine asked, an odd expression on her face.

"You heard, then?"

"Yes. Is she ok?"

"Physically? Yeah, she's fine."

"And mentally?" asked Katherine, looking apprehensive. Remus gazed at her for a moment, then shrugged.

"She's all right, I think. Just a bit shaken. I don't think it had sunk in that you were really-"

"Evil?" she suggested, only half smiling. Remus scowled at her.

"A Death Eater," he said firmly. "Do you really think I would still be your friend if I thought you were evil?"

"I think you're afraid to lose the last tie to the old you. I'm not a nice person, Remus."

"Is that why you told Harry that Dumbledore asked Snape to kill him?" asked Remus coldly, gazing at her.

"You think I was lying?"

"I think you were angry that he was insulting Snape. I think you want people to think he's not that bad so you can justify liking him," said Remus, a definite frown on his face now.

"I don't need to justify myself to anyone," said Katherine sharply. "And I'm not making excuses for Severus - I was telling the truth."

"Oh really?"

"Dumbledore did everything for Severus. Why would he betray him?"

"If Snape liked him so much, he couldn't have killed him. Not with Avada Kedavra."

"How do you know? You've never used it, you don't know what you have to do to use it. Ask Alastor – ask him if he could kill without hate. See what he says."

"I don't need to; if you love someone you can't kill them," shot back Remus, scowling at her. "You know that as well as I do."

"I killed Regulus."

"What does that have to do an-?" Remus stopped as his mind processed her words. "Regulus? Sirius' brother?" He stared at her incredulously. "You killed Sirius' brother?" Katherine held his gaze, tears welling up in her dark eyes.

"It was me or Bella. Just like on that tower it was Severus or Draco. Dumbledore would never have wanted Draco to become a murderer – if he'd done that, he'd have been lost. Right now he can still be reached."

"But Snape didn't have to-" said Remus weakly, still reeling from her revelation.

"He made an Unbreakable Vow with Narcissa to help Draco - he had to make it to keep his cover. Severus never wanted any of this," said Katherine softly. "None of us wanted any of this." She looked at him, gaze calm despite her wet lashes. "You think I'm a bad person now, don't you?"

"I don't know what to think," answered Remus quietly, not meeting her gaze.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"Shattering your illusions," said Katherine softly.

Remus looked at her, sitting so nonchalantly on a table in a house that wasn't hers and gazing so serenely back at him, perfectly at ease in an unfamiliar and potentially hostile environment, and realised for the first time that she'd changed. This wasn't the Katherine he'd run around his garden with, wasn't the Katherine that had sneaked around Hogwarts at night just so they could talk in private, wasn't even the Katherine that had been engaged to one of his best friends. This was a post-Azkaban, post-death Katherine and he wasn't sure he liked her. He wasn't even sure he wanted find out.

Out in the garden, a firework exploded. He jumped and glanced out of the window to see the air filled with red and gold sparks. The colours of Gryffindor.

Could Gryffindors really be friends with Slytherins? He turned back to Katherine only to see that she'd disappeared; the kitchen was empty and he was alone. He glanced at the washing up, at the piles of dirty plates still sitting patiently on the counter then shook his head and headed towards the door to the garden. Right now the last thing he wanted was to be alone with his thoughts.


	45. Exposed

**Chapter 44 – Exposed**

Severus sat in a dark green armchair, looking through the collection of photographs Ophelia had taken at the Avery's Halloween Ball last month. They were all arranged with infinite care in a leather bound album, with the names of each person written in neat copperplate beneath the photos. Severus glanced up at his cousin, her dark eyes fixed so intently on the musical score before her, and made a mental note to ensure he came round more often. She obviously had far too much time on her hands.

Ophelia didn't turn round, but she must have felt his eyes on her, because she pointed the bow of her violin at him and said firmly: "Stop it. I'm trying to work out how this goes and I can't concentrate if you keep psychoanalysing me."

Severus smiled slightly as she played a few tentative notes on the violin.

"Sorry. What's the piece?"

"It's the theme to some muggle film," answered Ophelia, tucking a strand of black hair behind her ear. "She did say which one, but I can't remember the name. Something German, I think."

"She?" questioned Severus, frowning deeply. Who had been giving his cousin muggle sheet music?

Ophelia did look at him this time, a bemused smile curling her lips.

"Kitten," she said lightly. "You see, Severus, you're not the only one who thinks I need an occupation to stop me doing something stupid." Severus ignored this accusation, more concerned with the mysterious woman.

"Who's Kitten?"

"Katherine," replied Ophelia, grinning now. "We nicknamed her that. She hates it."

Severus sighed, shaking his head. Ophelia & Julian were probably the only people in the world who could call Voldemort's daughter that to her face and get away with it. Julian because she was the one who'd taught him to annoy people, and Ophelia because she was rather fond of her. He was reasonably sure that if he ever called Katherine by that name he'd be on the receiving end of one of her nastier hexes before he'd even finished speaking.

He looked down at the photographs again as Ophelia started playing, and saw one of him, Nicola and Katherine. Underneath it in careful black ink was written:

_Eric Ravel, Nicola Meliflua, Anna Thornton_

He smiled faintly; it had been Nicola's idea that he go as the Phantom of the Opera so that he wouldn't have to use Polyjuice, and Katherine's that he call himself Eric; he still couldn't quite believe that no one had picked up on the reference.

His gaze moved to Katherine, or Anna, as she had been that night. Same black hair, but grey eyes instead of blue and more delicate, almost elfin features. She was dressed entirely in black, and you might have thought she hadn't bothered dressing up unless you were in on the joke; he remembered being a little bemused himself when she'd come downstairs with Nicola. She was going as the personification of Wrath, she'd told him, and Nicola was dressed as Lust. Apparently it was in honour of a drawing Regulus had done years ago, or something. Personally he was of the opinion that it was just an excuse for Nicola to wear one of her more dubious dresses in public.

"Severus?" He looked up to see Ophelia studying him with a pensive expression on her face.

"Yes?"

"Is she really trying to kill Daniel?"

"Katherine?" he asked, and she nodded. He shrugged. "Probably. Why?"

"Oh, nothing, it's just...well, it seemed a bit... It's just not how she usually behaves, is it?" said Ophelia, dark eyebrows creased in thought. "If she wanted to kill him, she would have done it, wouldn't she. I think she's just trying to make him miserable. Or make me happy. Something." She looked up, meeting his gaze. "Has she ever said anything to you about it?"

"Not exactly," began Severus, but then there was the sound of footsteps in the hall outside and with a quick look of apology at his cousin, he disapparated. Ophelia sighed and looked resignedly at the door as it swung open and Daniel entered.

"Who were you talking to?" he asked, frowning deeply and casting a suspicious glance around the room.

"No one," replied Ophelia, gazing calmly at him, taking in the dark circles under his eyes and his tense stance. No, Katherine wasn't trying to kill him – she just wanted everyone to think she was. Rumour had an invariable way of getting back to the person in question, and Ophelia wondered how long Daniel would last after someone told him that Voldemort's daughter had it in for him.

"I heard a man's voice," said Daniel stubbornly, giving her a dark look.

"Funny that, it must be going around."

"What?"

"Philip told Julian that his brother heard a woman's voice coming from your office the other night. You know, when you were working late on those figures," she added helpfully, at Daniel's confused stare.

"What woman? His brother's probably making it up," shrugged Daniel, throwing his cloak over the back of a chair and peering at the open photo album on the table.

"You're calling your boss a liar?" asked Ophelia, a polite frown marring her brow.

"What?" asked Daniel sharply, looking up.

"Philip Avery's brother - Robert Avery," prompted Ophelia her tone light, though there was a hint of steel in her eyes. "He is your boss, isn't he?"

"Avery's an idiot – everyone knows that," said Daniel, trying to be dismissive, but Ophelia caught the anxious note in his voice.

"Right," she nodded, turning back to her music as Daniel went to the door. "Only I don't see why that means he can't hear, Danny." Daniel paused, on the point of leaving and met her softly accusingly gaze with uneasy eyes. "Still, anyone can be mistaken, right?" she said quietly, looking away.

"Right," murmured Daniel, hesitating for a second before exiting the room. Ophelia stood motionless for a moment, then tried to focus on the musical score, but the notes kept blurring on the page. Swallowing hard, she set the violin down on the table and sank into a chair, thinking of Katherine's half smile when she'd handed over the score.

_"It's the theme from Schlindler's list; you know the story? One man's actions making all the difference in the world..."_

Yes, Severus was wrong. Katherine wasn't trying to kill Daniel, she was trying to get her to leave him.

x – X – x

"What on earth are you doing?"

Katherine looked up from the floor of the lounge, a newspaper clipping held in one hand whilst the other paused, frozen in the act of reaching for a folder that lay haphazardly on the coffee table.

"Nothing?" she tried, looking innocently up at him through clear blue eyes. Severus stared at her for a moment, then shook his head despairingly.

"Want a cup of tea?" he asked, deciding, wisely, not to ask why Nicola's usually pristine lounge looked like a paper recycling truck had dumped it's contents on the floor.

"No, I'm all right, thanks," said Katherine, grabbing the folder and placing the discoloured slip of paper into it before locating the biro and scribbling something on a notepad.

"Sure?"

"Uh huh," she murmured, picking up another article and scanning it with a frown.

"Everything ok?" he asked, when she bit her lip, gazing meditatively into middle distance.

"Hmm? Oh yeah, it's just-" She paused, her bright gaze flicking up to him, one hand reaching absently up to run through her loose hair.

"What?" he questioned, shifting under her suddenly calculating look.

"Nothing," she said shortly, turning back to her mysterious task and screwing up the clipping, tossing it brusquely into the waste paper basket. Severus raised an eyebrow at her odd behaviour, but resolved to leave it be; she was obviously busy with something and he knew from experience that she did not take well to being interrupted.

He headed for the kitchen as she reached for another scrap of paper and consequently failed to see her stop searching through the fragments of paper, sit back on her heels and throw a long, dubious look at the bin that held the discarded cutting, face dark with speculation and suspicion. A minute later, she cleared up the various newspaper articles, went quietly upstairs and packed her bags.

It was only when Nicola called her down to dinner four hours later that they noticed she'd gone. Severus stared at the empty room in shock, looking for something, anything that might tell him where she'd gone, or why.

"Did you two have a fight?" asked Nicola softly, gazing concernedly at Severus' pale face. He shook his head mutely, at a loss as to what to say. "Have you seen her today?" tried Nicola. Severus cleared his throat uncomfortably and nodded vaguely.

"She was in the lounge when I came in – sorting through old papers or something, I don't know-" He paused, a horrifying notion interrupting his thoughts and stilling his tongue. She'd been looking at old newspaper cuttings and then she'd picked one up and given that _look_.

He tore his gaze away from the empty room and hurried downstairs, grabbing the bin from the lounge and rummaging through it to find the balled up scrap of paper.

"Severus, what _are_ you doing?" Nicola had followed him and was now staring at him with a look that clearly displayed her confusion.

Severus stared down at the crumpled article about ghoul attacks in the north of Wales and said nothing. Was he wrong? He glanced at the date in the corner of the paper and then down at the picture of Milly Cobbins that took up most of the page and remembered that the side Katherine had read had not had a photo on it. Slowly, he turned the cutting over and saw the headline of the story. Half of it was missing, but he already knew what it said, remembered reading it with a certain amount of pleasure only a few years ago.

_Exposed: Dumbledore Employs Werewolf_

"Severus?"

"She found out," he said quietly, gazing at the yellowed passage of writing as though it was his own death warrant.

"Found out?" asked Nicola, stepping closer and glancing down at the article in his hand. "Oh." She hesitated, as though unsure of what to say. "I'm sorry."

"Why? You weren't the one that cost her best friend his job," muttered Severus, scrunching the paper up in his fist.

"Severus-"

"No, it's fine. This is good. Now I know who comes first." Nicola frowned, giving him an anxious look.

"What?" Severus glanced at her, dark eyes as cold and deep as a black hole.

"Well if she's always going to choose him over me, it's best I find out now, isn't it? Her loyalties lie with Lupin first, us second."

"That's not true," interjected Nicola, but Severus only smiled sourly.

"Isn't it?" he asked, a hint of dark irony in his voice. "You know, that's how good she is - we always think she's on our side, no matter how many times she leaves us to help them. What's it going to take to get us to realise she only really cares about one person?"

"She cares about you," said Nicola firmly, meeting his gaze resolutely. Severus shrugged, dropping the crumpled scrap of paper into the bin.

"Not enough."

x – X – x

Remus kicked the front door shut and flicked on the light switch, tossing the keys onto the side table as he did so. He was about to head straight to his bedroom when something stopped him. There was someone else in his flat.

He stood where he was for a moment; going into the main room would leave him open to attack, a dark silhouette against a light background, but if he left, they might follow him and then-

A shape moved in the darkness he could see through the half open door. One movement, but it was enough; he'd recognise that fluid motion anywhere.

"Katherine?"

He pushed open the door and turned the light on. Katherine was sitting on his dilapidated sofa, knees drawn up to her chest and looking so lost and vulnerable that he forgot to shout at her for scaring the hell out of him.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked softly, her quiet gaze moving to his face.

"Tell you what?" he asked, marvelling at how young she managed to make herself look; sometimes he found it hard to believe she was the same age as him.

"You say you hate him but you didn't tell me," said Katherine quietly, ignoring his question. "Why would you do that? You must have known I'd be mad at him if I found out – why not just tell me, Rem? If you wanted me to hate him, why not say?"

"Katherine, I don't know-"

"Severus got you sacked."

Remus paused, surveying her with serene brown eyes.

"You didn't know?" he questioned mildly. Indignation flared in her blue eyes and she sat up, scowling at him.

"Of course I didn't know. Do you think I would've defend him if I'd known he'd done that?" she demanded hotly.

"Well, yes, to be quite honest," answered Remus, sitting down in the chair opposite her and running a weary hand over his face. "You love him, Katherine. I know that and you know that – you can forgive him anything."

"Not that," said Katherine softly, shaking her head. "He lost you the only job you'd had in goodness knows how long, all over a schoolboy grudge."

"He was angry, Katherine."

"That's no excuse."

"No? We all do stupid things when we're angry. More to the point, Sirius had just made a miraculous escape from a Kiss and seeing him again had probably brought up all those memories of you and – What? What's that look for?"

"Sirius was going to get the Kiss?" asked Katherine, a touch of horror in her voice. "Severus wanted Sirius to get the Kiss?"

"He thought he deserved it," shrugged Remus bitterly. "Everyone thought he was guilty."

"Not Severus."

"What?"

"Severus knows me – he would have known Sirius couldn't have been a Death Eater," said Katherine earnestly. "We only fell out because he joined up – Severus would have known I'd have broken up with Sirius if he even showed an interest in becoming a Death Eater."

"Maybe he thought you loved him so much you wouldn't care," suggested Remus, gazing back at her. Katherine gave him a half smile, though there was no humour in it, only a sour bitterness.

"Is that what you thought? That I'd corrupted him?" Remus said nothing, but Katherine hadn't really expected an answer anyway. She sighed, tucking a loose section of hair back behind her ear. "It was because I loved Severus that I cut him off. I couldn't bear to watch Tom destroy him. I wouldn't have let Tom go near Sirius for the world."

"You didn't mind destroying him, though?" asked Remus with a deliberately light air. "Because you did, you know. He fell apart when you were arrested. Of course he pulled himself together eventually because he had to – we were in the middle of a war – but you hurt him, Katherine. Sometimes I wonder if you realise the impact you have on people. You've only known Harry a couple of months and now he's cut up because he thinks you've betrayed him somehow. People aren't pawns in some huge game for you to play with, they have feelings. Do you even care?"

Katherine frowned slightly, concentrating intently on her hands.

"Do you?" she asked quietly, glancing up at him.

"Do I what?"

"Care about people."

"Of course I do," Remus replied, giving her a perplexed look.

"Everyone?" she questioned, holding his gaze with a faint smile.

"Most people."

Katherine nodded, as though he'd proved some theory of hers.

"Right, well I don't – not about most people. I only care about some. The list probably totals under twenty in all." She smiled at him, and there was a trace of Slytherin in it. "And if that makes me a bad person then so be it, but I will say this – I would do _anything_ for the people on that list. Anything at all. Can you say that for the vast majority of the people you care about?"

Remus just looked at her, brown eyes studying his oldest friend.

"When did you change?"

The intent look on Katherine's face faded, replaced by an expression somewhere between shame and betrayal.

"Goodbye Remus."

"No-" Remus made to stand, to stop her leaving, but it was too late. She'd disappeared.

He sighed, closing his eyes and shaking his head slightly.

"That wasn't what I meant."


	46. A question of loyalty

**Chapter 45 – A question of loyalty**

"I just don't trust her, Jamie," said Alexandra McKenzie, digging in her bag for the keys to their flat. "First she hates us, now you two are hanging out all the time. She's up to something."

James sighed and leant against the wall as his sister finally located the keys and opened the door; he was getting tired of this argument. He stared out at the heavy downpour of rain from the shelter of the porch and frowned in irritation; so much for snow at Christmas time.

"I told you, Allie, she fell out with her friends. I got talking to her and we got along, that's all there is to it." Alex scoffed and stepped inside, peeling off her sodden cloak. James followed, heading into the bathroom to find a towel to dry his hair. From the hall, Alex called:

"She's using you."

James shook his head, peering at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. Alex was just being paranoid, all that time she was spending with Bellatrix was rubbing off on her.

"I'm not paranoid," said Alex sharply, sticking her head around the door and gazing at him with large brown eyes. "She's trouble. I bet she hasn't even told you why she fell out with them, has she?"

"I never asked," said James defensively, ruffling his now only slightly damp hair.

"She wouldn't tell you even you did," said Alex, calmly drying her own thick red hair with her wand. "She's using you but you can't see through the big blue eyes and the pretty face. I bet she hasn't even really argued at all. She's just trying to work her way back to the top."

James snorted with laughter. "Through _us_? Oh come on, Allie, we're not even in the outer inner circle."

"Bella is."

James fixed his sister with a weary look. "Allie, Katherine Riddle would sooner stick pins in her eyes than talk to Bella. She's not after her help."

"She mi-"

"Leave it," snapped James, scowling now. "There is no ulterior motive, ok? She's just angry with her friends and needs someone else to talk to."

"And that just happens to be you," said Alex, one eyebrow arched incredulously. James shrugged, stepping past her and grabbing a dry shirt from his bedroom.

"I was the only one who noticed."

x – X – x

Cassandra Avery looked worriedly at the dark haired woman sitting in the chair before her.

"I'm really sorry," she said again, wishing she could help. "None of us know where she is."

"No idea at all?" asked Ophelia, dark eyes pleading. "What about Severus? He must know."

Cassandra hesitated, but after all, she'd already admitted to meeting with Katherine since her escape, and Ophelia was Severus' cousin – she wouldn't be working for the Ministry, would she.

"I think it's mainly Severus she's trying to avoid," she sighed. "I'm sorry."

"So she's vanished again? Just like that?" asked Ophelia, mood turning to anger now. "Over a silly little argument."

Cassandra sighed and shrugged helplessly. "It was important to her."

"But hasn't anyone tried apologising?" asked Ophelia desperately. "If they did-"

"It wouldn't make any difference," said Cassandra gently. "Robert managed to speak to her but she didn't want to hear it. The problem is that she does understand why we did it, she's just angry."

Ophelia looked despondently into the cup of coffee before her and saw her own rippled reflection staring back at her. It wasn't fair – just when she needed Katherine the most, she'd disappeared and now-

"Mummy?" A small blonde girl was standing nervously in the kitchen doorway.

"Yes, sweetheart?" asked Cassandra, smiling at her daughter.

"I can't find Hector."

Cassandra caught Ophelia's confused expression and smiled a little. "It's her teddy," she explained, then to her daughter, she added: "Have you looked under the bed?"

Katy nodded, green eyes threatening tears. "Boreas can't find him either."

Cassandra frowned now; Boreas was their House Elf and if he couldn't find Hector, then he really was lost. She held out her arms and Katy scrambled up onto her lap, snuggling into the embrace.

"Don't worry, we'll find him. I'm sure he's around somewhere."

The sound of the front door slamming announced the arrival of Robert and a few seconds later he appeared, tugging off his tie and cloak, and grimacing.

"Are you all right?" asked Cassandra, frowning at her husband who made a non committal sound, tossing his discarded clothing onto a chair and rubbing his left arm in a suspiciously familiar way. He hesitated at the sight of Ophelia, and Cassandra hurriedly filled him in. "She's trying to find Katherine."

"Why?" asked Robert, looking oddly at her.

"I need to talk to her."

"And you asked here because...?" Ophelia gazed coolly at him with dark green eyes reminiscent of her cousin.

"Because she came to your Halloween party. I know you're friends."

"Not anymore," said Robert shortly, wincing absently and clutching at his arm. "What do you want to tell her?"

"To find me," said Ophelia quietly, eyes drifting to the hand wrapped around his left arm. "Because I don't think I can do this without her."

For a moment, something like sour amusement flashed across Robert's face. "Yes, she tends to have that effect on people." He looked over at Cassandra and caught sight of his tearful daughter for the first time. "What-?"

"She's lost Hector," said Cassandra quietly as Katy gazed solemnly up at him.

"The teddy?" asked Robert, gritting his teeth against the pain in his arm. "Have you looked-" He broke off, closing his eyes.

"Go, Robert. We'll be all right," said Cassandra firmly. Robert opened one eye to look at her, then nodded abruptly and strode out of the room. "It gets worse the longer you leave it," said Cassandra in a mild voice, though Ophelia could tell she was upset. Cassandra turned to face her as Katy shifted on her lap. "He missed one once, on our honeymoon. Nearly ended up in hospital but he wouldn't leave."

"Must be nice," said Ophelia softly. "To have someone who loves you that much."

Cassandra smiled, though her eyes seemed a little overly bright. "It would be, if it was just us."

Ophelia was silent for a moment, then stood up. "I should go. I hope you find Hector."

Katy smiled at her, as her mother hugged her tightly, and as Ophelia left the house, she wasn't sure which was worse: to have a husband you hated, or to have one you loved and have to watch him being torn apart.

x – X – x

James McKenzie pushed open the door of the Horned Bull and headed for the booth at the back.

"You missed another meeting."

Absent blue eyes strayed up to his face and a pair of shoulders shrugged vaguely.

"Did I?"

"How many have you had?" asked James with a frown, sliding into the seat opposite her.

"Two."

James looked at her incredulously. "Two drinks? Do you seriously expect me to believe-"

"Two bottles." The trace of a grin flickered across her face. "What did I miss? In the meeting, I mean."

James looked at her for a moment, then shook his head despairingly. "Stay there, I'll be back in a minute, all right?"

She shrugged and watched him leave with apathetic interest, then stretched and said in a tired voice:

"I thought I told you to leave me alone." She turned and stared accusingly at the empty space next to her as Robert Avery materialised, shrugging off the disillusionment charm.

"Ophelia wants to see you."

Katherine studied him for a moment, then looked back at the empty glass in her hand, frowning.

"Didn't he notice you following him?" she asked, a meditative expression on her face. Robert cast an unimpressed glance over at the bar, where James was deep in conversation with the barman, and shook his head.

"I don't see why you're hanging around with him."

"He doesn't lie to me," said Katherine sharply, shooting him an angry look.

"Neither did I," protested Robert. "Technically," he added, seeing Katherine's expression.

"Lying by omission is still lying, Avery."

"Right, and we're the only ones who you're ever mad at," Robert scowled, noting the use of his surname. Katherine glanced at him for a moment, then smiled sourly.

"What? You think I'm not mad at Remus?"

"You are?" questioned Robert, looking dubious.

"'Course I bloody am," said Katherine, sighing heavily. "But he didn't lie."

"You just said lying by omi-" began Robert, but she shook her head.

"He thought I knew," she said quietly, scowling darkly.

"Then why-" Robert started, but stopped as he realised what she meant. "Oh."

"Yeah," murmured Katherine, tapping her fingers absently on the side of her glass. "Still not entirely sure who I should be more hacked off at. People who lie, or people who think I'd be fine with the fact that the man who supposedly likes me got my oldest friend sacked and his _condition_ plastered across the national newspapers."

"The second one," said Robert firmly, eyeing James who was making his way back over to them. "You do the first all the time."

"No I don't."

Robert grinned. "Point made."

Katherine frowned as he disapparated and a moment later James appeared and placed a large goblet in front of her.

"Drink this. It'll sober you up."

"Maybe I don't want to be sober," contested Katherine. James frowned and pushed ruby red hair out of his eyes.

"You need to sort yourself out, Katherine. What did they do to make you like this?"

Katherine gazed at him suspiciously, cerulean eyes narrowed. "Why?"

"I don't want to make the same mistake," James shrugged, and she laughed darkly.

"I wouldn't worry on that account, Jamie. You couldn't."

"Why not?"

"Because what they did involves a breach of trust and I don't trust you," answered Katherine, smiling lazily at him.

"You don't? Why not?"

"'Cause I've known you for about a month," said Katherine simply. "Give it another year or two and I might think about it."

James frowned at her, leaning back in his seat and looking disgruntled.

"Have I done anything to make you distrust me? I haven't been anything but nice to you."

"Right," said Katherine quietly, clear blue eyes watching him closely. "And that is precisely what makes me think you're up to something. No one's nice for nothing, and you were a Slytherin, Jamie. More than that, you hang around with Bellatrix and your sister keeps trying to get me into trouble."

"I'm not like Allie," said James softly.

"No? You thought I was lying about having killed Faye."

"I didn't know you then; things are different now."

Katherine looked at him for a moment, then picked up the goblet and downed it.

"Better?" he asked, smiling slightly; she pulled a face.

"That's foul."

"Sobers you up, though."

"Hmm, I think I'll take the hangover next time," muttered Katherine, frowning as Robert's message finally struck home. "I should go home."

"I'll come with you."

"No, it's all right. Really, Jamie, I can manage." She smiled tiredly. "But thanks for the offer."

James sighed as he watched her leave and sunk down in his seat. Maybe Allie was right – it was only a matter of time before she forgave her friends, and when she did, where would that leave him?

x – X – x

It was a House Elf that opened the door. Katherine stared at it for a moment, trying to remember how you were supposed to address them, then recalling that people didn't usually trouble over the treatment of Elves.

"Is Ophelia in?"

"Mistress?" asked the Elf, seeming a little confused; evidently Ophelia didn't get many visitors.

"Yeah," said Katherine. "She wanted to see me."

"She is not taking visitors," squeaked the Elf uncertainly.

"But she wanted to see me," said Katherine quietly.

"She is unwell," replied the Elf. "Cubby is very sorry and hopes you would come back tomorrow."

Katherine stared at the Elf for a moment, then smiled brightly and nodded, before stepping past him and calling Ophelia's name loudly. Cubby the Elf squealed with indignation but a moment later Ophelia appeared at the top of the stairs, dark eyes gazing at her in astonishment.

"You came," she said softly as the Elf scuttled round Katherine's feet, protesting at her behaviour.

"It sounded important."

Ophelia studied her for a moment, then came down the stairs and shut the door which still stood ajar.

"Cubby go away," she snapped, and the Elf stared up at her for a moment, visibly struggling with inner conflict then hurried off, muttering disconsolately. Ophelia exhaled, then looked at Katherine.

"Daniel's away on a business trip," she said quietly, a pensive expression on her face. "You know, people have told me to leave him before, but that's all they do – tell me. It isn't much help." She paused, noting the impassive expression on the older woman's face, then added softly: "I'm really hoping you're different."

Blue eyes studied her for a moment, then Katherine grinned wickedly and pulled a bunch of keys out of her pocket. "I'm different."

x – X – x

Hector the teddy bear was not having a good day.

First he'd been snatched from his favourite spot on the bed by that dopey looking elf, then he'd been shoved into a dirty sack and squashed under a host of other items. He'd spent the best part of three hours being impaled by a hairbrush and now that he'd finally been rescued from the darkness of the sack, he was in the hands of an unfamiliar thin looking woman with grey eyes and mousy brown hair.

This was almost certainly not good.

"You're sure this is hers?" the woman asked, looking over him at the figure who'd been carrying the sack.

"Positive. Everything's from her room and we don't make mistakes."

The woman smiled grimly.

Hector didn't like the smile.

It frightened him, even more than the monster under the bed and the creatures that hid in the shadows. Katy's Mummy and Daddy made those things go away, but they weren't here now and this monster was real and bad and it scared him.

The woman produced a small bag that clinked metallically and gave it to the dark figure.

"Thank you for your assistance."

The figure bowed and departed, and the woman put Hector on a shelf and sorted through the remaining contents of the sack, the dark smile never leaving her face, while Hector stared glassily at the photographs covering the wall opposite his perch.

The photos showed a man, sometimes young, sometimes old, expression always different, but unquestionably the same man and Hector wondered, as the woman sat at the table and worked, why she was so interested in Katy's Daddy.


	47. The pirate and the princess

**A/N: **Right, well I'm finally up to date on the backlog of chapters I've had written up, so the next chapter shall be a completely new one for anyone who was reading over on CoS forums. :) Enjoy!

**x – X – x**

**Chapter 46 – The pirate and the princess**

Julian Lloyd sat in the small lounge and sipped at the cup of tea his sister had made for him. The change in her was remarkable, and it had only been, what, a week since she'd left Daniel.

"Where's Katherine?" he asked as she set a pack of biscuits on the coffee table and took one.

"Shopping," answered Ophelia, munching on the biscuit. "We were running low on essentials."

"Like alcohol?" Julian asked, and Ophelia stared at him.

"What?"

"I didn't mean you," said Julian quickly, seeing the hurt look in her dark eyes. "James McKenzie said that Katherine's been drowning her sorrows lately."

Ophelia frowned, seemingly bemused. "Katherine's not unhappy, she's just mad at Severus and the others."

"So she hasn't been drinking?"

"Well, she's had a few," said Ophelia, shrugging. "But not an excessive amount."

"She's missed meetings as well," said Julian, a frown creasing his forehead in concern. "That's not like her."

At that moment a key turned in the lock and a few seconds later Katherine herself appeared in the doorway, shopping bags in her hand. She grinned when she saw Julian.

"I saw Daniel the other day," she informed him happily, shifting the heavy bags in her grip. "He had a wonderfully dark black eye. Now how do you suppose that happened?"

Julian looked at her, trying to detect any trace of the depression or secrecy in her gaze that James had reported, but found none; she looked content, cheerful even. He sighed and shrugged.

"Must have walked into someone's fist," he answered lazily. Katherine laughed, blue eyes glinting wickedly.

"Judging from the colour of that bruise I'd say he must have run," she said, smirking and wandering across the hall into the kitchen. "I'm proud," she called back. "You finally took some of my advice, Ju."

"Advice?" asked Ophelia, looking confused.

"There's no spell to block punches," supplied Julian, as the sound of Katherine putting the shopping away came from the kitchen. "Magic might do more damage, but physical violence has the element of surprise."

"And it's much more satisfying," added Katherine, sticking her head around the door. She grinned again and looked at Ophelia. "Will you be all right tomorrow night? I promised to visit a friend."

"Yeah, I'm staying at his," nodded Ophelia, gesturing towards her brother. "You've got to spend Christmas with the family, right?"

"Right," agreed Katherine, then looked sharply at Julian and said in a bemused voice: "If you stare at me any harder I think I may spontaneously combust. What's wrong?"

"You've missed the last three meetings," said Julian, frowning at her.

"And?" questioned Katherine, tilting her head slightly to one side and gazing mildly at him. Julian arched an eyebrow.

"And? And you don't see a problem with that?"

Katherine grinned. "I sorted it with Dad; told him I couldn't go 'cause it might blow my cover at the school. He agreed because he needs me up there – got something planned, I think. I'm meeting up with him once a week instead."

Julian stared at her, the truth of the matter starting to dawn on him. "And that whole thing about falling out with your mates?" he asked slowly.

"Oh that happened," said Katherine brightly. "And don't get me wrong, I'm mad as hell with them, but seriously, they were only doing it because they want me to get together with your cousin. 'Cept Remus – he was just being Remus and I can hardly blame him for that, can I?"

"So you're just putting this on for James, aren't you?" said Julian with a weary sigh. Katherine chuckled, smiling happily.

"Knew there was a reason I liked you."

"But why? Why James? I mean he's-"

"In league with Bella? I know, but if I get him to like me-"

"I don't think you'll have much of a problem there," muttered Julian, and Katherine gave him a sharp look but continued regardless.

"-_if_ I get him to like me, then maybe he'll persuade his sister to stop trying to kill me."

Julian sighed wearily. "And when he finds out you're stringing him along?"

"I'm doing no such thing," said Katherine airily.

"So he knows about you and Severus?" asked Julian, dark eyebrows raised.

"There is no me and Severus," said Katherine coolly, narrowing her own blue eyes. "So there's no one to tell him, is there?"

Julian caught the edge to her voice and wisely decided to shut up.

"Good," smiled Katherine. "Now I'll just go and pack for tomorrow."

"Where are you going?" asked Julian as she turned to leave. Katherine shrugged.

"I told you, I'm staying-"

"With a friend?" he questioned lightly. "So you have at least one you're not currently arguing with?"

Katherine smiled faintly and tossed her black hair over her shoulder.

"Like Lia said, you've got to spend Christmas with the family."

Ophelia smirked as Katherine treated them both to a cheeky grin and disappeared into her bedroom. She looked at her brother who was frowning in thought and rolled her eyes.

"Oh leave her alone, Ju. It's Christmas and she's perfectly capable of taking care of herself," she chided, helping herself to another biscuit. For some reason this made Julian smile wryly and nod.

"No doubt that's exactly what she plans to do," he murmured, shaking his head slightly. Then he smiled. "Anyway, about Christmas dinner tomorrow, Tanya wanted to know if you'd prefer chicken or turkey..."

x – X – x

Faye Belle looked up at the sound behind her and grinned.

"I thought you weren't coming." She turned in time to see the frown on her cousin's face and shrugged. "You're half an hour late, Katherine."

"I got held up," said Katherine carelessly. "Minor emergency at the flat – Lia couldn't find her toothbrush."

"Lia?"

"She's a friend," explained Katherine, dropping her bag on a chair and pulling a silver wrapped box out of her pocket. "Merry Christmas," she grinned, tossing it at Faye, who caught it deftly.

"Thanks, yours is over there," she added, tearing off the paper and opening the leather box underneath. "Oh it's beautiful," she breathed, picking up the light silver chain and examining the ebony stone hanging from it.

"Isn't it just?" grinned Katherine, opening her own present with one eye on Faye. "The gem's only black when there're Death Eaters around, though; it's green otherwise."

Faye cast an appraising look at her cousin. "Is there an ulterior motive to all your actions?" she asked with a slight smile.

"Usually," agreed Katherine, turning over the photo frame she was now holding and gazing at the picture beneath the glass. Smiling up at her was a woman with jet black hair and deep sapphire blue eyes. Had it not been for the short hair and slight difference in face shape, she could have been looking at a younger version of herself. It was her mother, and in her arms she was holding-

"I found it when I was sorting through Papa's old things," said Faye softly. "Aunt Cady left most of her things behind when she ran off to find you and he kept some of it."

"She looks happy," said Katherine quietly, watching as her newborn self wriggled in her mother's arms.

"She loved you," said Faye simply, studying her carefully. Katherine half smiled, noting the use of past tense.

"Perhaps she still does," she said quietly. "I guess we'll never know." She looked up at Faye and smiled softly. "Thank you."

Faye smiled back, but still said gently: "We could look, you know - after the war. Someone might know-"

"Kelly knew," said Katherine with a sigh. "He was the only one that did, and he died in September."

"Wouldn't hurt to try after Voldemort's gone though, would it?" persisted Faye. Katherine smiled oddly and meet her anxious gaze.

"I suppose not. You should try."

"_We_ should try," corrected Faye, but Katherine only smiled and looked out of the window over the snow covered grounds.

"Has Remus told you about the Gelu Tree?" asked Katherine after a moments pause.

"The what?" asked Faye, deciding to let the fact that her cousin was purposefully changing the subject slide.

"It's a tree that only flowers when it snows," answered Katherine absently, then looked quickly at Faye, one eyebrow raised challengingly. "Fancy a walk in the grounds?"

x – X – x

The Gelu Tree turned out to be in a clearing on the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest and Faye glanced nervously around at the surrounding tree trunks as Katherine gazed up at the violet tinged petals.

"You all right?" asked Katherine after a while, frowning curiously at her cousin. "You seem a bit...jumpy."

"Just don't want to meet any centaurs, that's all," said Faye, pulling her cloak a little more firmly about her shoulders. "They don't take too kindly to humans wandering about in their forest."

"_Their_ forest?" questioned Katherine, looking highly dubious. "Since when was it _their _forest? The school was here first."

"Good luck trying to argue that at spear point," said Faye with a slight grin. "Anyway, I thought you said no politics today, huh?"

"And no interruptions," agreed Katherine, shaking her head. "Sorry."

"Not your fault," shrugged Faye lightly. "Both of them are getting increasingly hard to avoid these days."

In the following moment of quiet, they heard a bell chiming from somewhere within the castle, and Katherine grinned.

"Dinner time. Damn, I miss Hogwarts food."

"I told the House Elves to bring it to my room," smiled Faye, as they set off back up the slope towards the distant castle, Katherine fading from sight as soon as they were beyond the trees. Faye glanced at the ground and was impressed to see her cousin wasn't making any footprints either.

"Routine concealment charm," said the familiar disembodied voice. "Ask Remus about it – the Marauders used to use it all the time."

"You didn't?" questioned Faye sceptically, and she could almost hear the lazy smile as her cousin answered.

"We were better at not being noticed; I'm just not taking any chances today."

They managed to get through Christmas dinner without any mention of politics or, unusually, any interruptions at all, but it was in the middle of a game of poker that Katherine suddenly frowned and pushed her pirate hat up out of her eyes.

"Did you hear something?" she asked quietly, staring into middle distance. Faye, sporting a silver tiara studded with glass jewels, shook her head.

"Is something wrong?" she asked, throwing a few of the wrapped chocolate mints they were using as betting chips onto the pile between them.

"I'm not sure," said Katherine, the frown not leaving her forehead. She pulled an aging piece of paper out of her pocket and looked at it pensively. Faye could just make out an emblem of roses penned in black ink before Katherine pocketed it again, the uneasy expression on her face remaining. She glanced up at Faye again, biting her lip, an apologetic look in her eyes. "I...am _really_ sorry about this..."

"What? Is it a meeting?" asked Faye, starting to worry herself.

"No..." said Katherine slowly. "It's...I just have to check something. I'll be back as soon as I can, I promise." She stood up, tossing her cards lightly onto the table, face down. "Sorry," she said again, and disappeared.

Faye frowned at the place where her cousin had been and sighed. She wouldn't have left unless it was important, she knew, but still...

Absently she took a mint from the small pile and unwrapped it, popping it in her mouth before casting an idle glance at the discarded cards. It wouldn't hurt take a peek, would it?

A royal flush, a running royal flush at that. Her frown deepened and she reached for the wine bottle that sat on the table; better make that _very_ important - it would have to be, to pass up a hand like that...

x – X – x

Robert Avery stared at his House Elf in bewilderment.

"Gone? What do you mean gone?"

"She's not in her bed-"

"Boreas, she's five years old. Exactly how far can she go?" asked Robert, rubbing his face tiredly. It had been a long day, entertaining three sets of siblings and their families and he was worn out.

In front of him, the Elf shook it's head violently and something in his nervous fidgeting finally got through to the part of Robert's brain that was always alert.

"She's not in the house," squealed the Elf, hopping from one foot to the other in agitation. "She's not anywhere."

Anxiety started to curdle in pit of Robert's stomach as he glanced over at his wife, dozing fitfully in the armchair near the fire, and then back at the wretched Elf. This was completely ridiculous – how could Katy be missing? They'd been in all day – Cassandra had only put her to bed an hour ago – no one else had been in the house.

He got abruptly to his feet and headed up the stairs to his young daughter's room but even before he pushed the partially opened door back he knew it was empty.

"Katy?"

No answer. Fighting down the panic that was starting to rise in his chest he called again.

"Katy, this isn't the time to play hide and seek. Katy?"

There was a nervous whimper by his feet; Boreas had followed him up. Robert scanned the room feverishly and then he saw it, lying carelessly on the floor by the bed – Katy's teddy.

He darted over to it, snatching it up and realising too late his mistake as he felt the horribly familiar tug somewhere behind his navel. He barely had time to register the frightened squeal of the House Elf before the walls of the bedroom spun away, replaced a few moments later by a small, cold room with a single wooden door.

He stood frozen for a moment, trying to take stock of his surroundings, but there wasn't much to see so he tried the door. It swung open easily, revealing a larger room, with dark red walls and coarse wooden floorboards. There were no windows but light came from a glowing tube on the ceiling, illuminating a small figure crouched in the far corner.

"Katy," he breathed and started towards her, but before he'd gone more than a few paces the door clicked shut behind him. It wasn't a loud sound, but it nevertheless demanded attention. He paused and turned, but there was no one there.

Frowning, he reached for his wand and found it gone.

"Lost something, have we, Mr Avery?" asked a soft voice, but when Robert whirled around there was no one there.

"Who was that?" he asked sharply, but there was no reply. No voice and no wand. He was starting to think he was going mad. Trying to stay calm, he stepped towards his daughter. "Katy?"

The small blonde head lifted a little and looked at him with tearful green eyes. Robert smiled and reached out, but as soon as he moved forwards Katy started screaming and an amused voice by his ear murmured.

"I'd step back if I were you, Mr Avery."

Robert did so hurriedly and Katy fell quiet, tears streaming down her cheeks, small face confused and scared.

"Well done, Mr Avery," said the same voice and Robert didn't like the tone of it.

"What did you do to her?" he asked, voice trembling with fear and anger.

"Little thing called Cruciatus, Mr Avery," was the reply, in an almost sing song voice. "I understand your type use it all the time, Mr Avery. Don't give it if you can't take it, Mr Avery."

Robert scowled; whoever this was, they'd obviously done their homework. Everything about this situation was familiar – this was exactly how he'd used to carry out missions. Use a secluded area, take their wand, irritate them and hurt someone they loved... The invisibility trick was a new aspect though; even Katherine had never been that dishonourable unless it was necessary.

"If you're going to kill me," he said softly. "The least you could do is show me your face."

"Kill you, Mr Avery?" laughed the voice, and he thought he felt the air move next to him. "Oh we're not going to kill you, Mr Avery. This isn't about killing you, Mr Avery."

Robert looked fearfully over at his daughter who was staring up at him with wide, frightened eyes.

"So what is it about?" he asked, though he thought he already knew. It didn't matter - he just needed more time, he needed...

The voice chuckled darkly as he closed his eyes and screamed a name inside his head...

"Revenge, Mr Avery." A woman materialised before him, mousy brown hair pulled back into a messy bun, grey eyes gleaming madly. "What else?"

**x – X – x**

Reviews are welcome. :)


	48. The importance of family

**A/N:** This is a slightly longer chapter than usual because there wasn't a convenient point to break it off. Hope you like it and watch out for the cliffie.

**x – X – x**

**Chapter 47 – The importance of family**

"Daddy?"

The small whimper broke into Robert's thoughts and he tore his gaze away from the strange woman and tried to reach his daughter again, but barely a second later Katy started screaming again, curled up a tight ball and the woman tutted.

"I _told_ you, Mr Avery, you're not to go near her." She gazed at him with those small grey eyes and smiled as he stumbled backwards, but Katy kept screaming.

"Leave her alone," he yelled, but the woman shook her head.

"You've got to be taught a lesson, Mr Avery. We'll leave her be when you've learnt it and not a moment sooner."

"You'll kill her!" shouted Robert, grabbing the woman by her shoulders and shaking her.

"Oh I don't think so," said the woman calmly, delicately removing his hands. "We don't want her dead, Mr Avery. We just want her to know what kind of man her daddy is, Mr Avery. We want her to know that all this pain is your fault, Mr Avery. Tell her that, and we'll stop, Mr Avery."

Robert stared at her as his daughter sobbed in the corner. "You're insane," he whispered, but the woman's eyes were hard.

"Tell her, Mr Avery."

"Stop and I will – she's not going to be able to listen to anything like this," said Robert determinedly. The woman surveyed him for a moment, then gave the barest of nods. Robert looked at Katy; she was still hunched over, but the curse had been lifted. "Why are you doing this?" he asked, staring helplessly at the woman.

"Do you want us to start again, Mr Avery? Tell her-"

"You said you wanted revenge – revenge for what? What did I do to you?" asked Robert, thinking quickly. "Did I hurt some mudblood relative? You should be grateful."

The woman's face contorted with rage and Robert smiled inwardly; Katherine would have hit him round the head for that last comment, but he needed to keep her talking. If she was angry, she might forget about Katy...

"Grateful?" the woman hissed, pushing her face up close to his. "Grateful?"

"If they were anything like you, I've done the world a favour," he said softly, searching the woman's features for anything vaguely recognisable. As far as he could remember, he'd never seen her before in his life. "That's what we do – rid the world of all the filth and scum-"

"She was eight years old," snarled the woman. "Eight years old and you killed her – used dark curses on her so she bled to death. Didn't even have the decency to make it quick." The woman glowered up at him, eyes burning with hatred. "And you have the nerve to call other people scum."

x – X – x

"Nicola!"

Severus Snape froze at the voice; it wasn't so much the name as the way it was called. Carefully he put down the jar of lace wings he'd been about to open and trod softly out of the room to the staircase. A shape was silhouetted against the rippled glass beside the door.

The knock came again, hard enough to break the door down.

"Nicola!"

This time the voice was more like a sob. Making up his mind, he went down the stairs and opened the front door. Cassandra was standing there, long blonde hair falling wildly over her shoulders, face chalky white.

"They've gone," she said, swallowing hard. "Robert and Katy – you've got to help me, I...I don't know what to do."

And then she was sobbing and it was all Severus could do to usher her inside and shut the door.

"What do you mean they're gone?" he asked, as Cassandra leant against the wall, shaking. "They were taken?"

"I don't know," said Cassandra quietly, wiping furiously at her eyes and trying to breath properly. "Boreas said...said Katy went missing and then...there was a portkey – her teddy – and Robert vanished too. I don't know where he went. Please, Severus, you've got to..." She trailed off, speech failing her and shook her head.

"Nicola's not home," said Severus quietly. "She went to an office party or something. Go into the sitting room, I'll get her back." But Cassandra didn't move.

"What's she going to do?" she asked hopelessly. "I only came round here because there was nowhere else to go. I don't think this is an Auror matter, Severus. Aurors don't kidnap children."

"Well it's not a Death Eater matter," said Severus firmly. "I'd have heard." He paused. "Did you say there was a portkey?"

Cassandra nodded, tears rolling silently down her cheeks. "Hector."

"What?" Severus was confused.

"The teddy," said Cassandra. "He's called Hector; he was the portkey."

Severus hesitated for a moment, then disappeared into a side room and a few seconds later Cassandra heard the rush of flames. It was a couple of minutes before Severus reappeared, dusting soot off his hands.

"What did you do?" asked Cassandra, voice sounding small in the large hallway.

"Called my cousin – he works for Robert. He said he'd try to find a location for the portkey."

"And if it's unplottable?" asked Cassandra, gazing at him with mascara streaked eyes.

"We'll deal with that if it comes to it," said Severus firmly, summoning a bottle from his room. "Come on, I'll make you a drink."

"Alcoholic?" asked Cassandra as she followed him into the kitchen and sank into a chair.

"No, magical."

"One of your special potions?" Cassandra laughed hollowly. "It's been a long time since I had one of those."

"They're not just for curing hangovers," said Severus dryly as he set a mug in front of her. She looked at it unenthusiastically.

"Smells awful," she muttered, pushing her hair out of her eyes and picking up the cup gingerly.

"If you want something that looks nice you're welcome to try one of those abysmal concoctions they print in _Witch Weekly_, however, if you require something that actually _works_, I suggest you drink this," said Severus brusquely, waving his wand so that something silvery shot out of it and darted away.

"What was that?" frowned Cassandra, pausing with the mug halfway to her lips.

"Patronus," answered Severus, eyeing the mug. "I thought Nicola ought to know what's going on."

"So she can keep an eye on me?"

"What?"

Cassandra sighed, looking dully at the murky surface of the potion in her mug. "You won't find her," she said softly. "And even if you did, she wouldn't come."

Severus stared at her for a long moment; they weren't talking about Nicola any more.

"She might."

Cassandra gave a slight shrug and sipped at the drink. "Have to find her first."

"No need," said Severus softly. "I already know where she is."

_That_ got Cassandra's attention; she stared at him, shock in her clear green eyes.

"But I thought-"

"Julian told me," said Severus shortly. "She's visiting...a friend."

Cassandra's eyebrows creased into a frown at the slight pause, but at that moment there was the noise of the front door opening and Nicola's anxious voice.

"You're wrong, you know," said Severus softly, as Nicola burst into the kitchen. "She's incapable of giving up on anything. Especially us."

x – X – x

Grey eyes gazed into brown and Muriel smiled. She'd been waiting twenty three years and six months for this.

"Not going to deny it?" she asked softly, as the man before her swallowed hard, something like guilt in his eyes.

"Let Katy go."

"But you haven't told her what a nasty man her father is yet," said Muriel pleasantly, stepping back and observing him. Avery's gaze flickered to the small girl in the corner and she saw a pained expression cross his face.

"Why do you want to hurt her? None of this is her fault."

Muriel sighed theatrically. "I think you know why we have to do this, Mr Avery." She looked at him, leaning back against the wall now as though his legs wouldn't support him. "It isn't enough to hurt _you_, Mr Avery. Physical pain is nothing compared to that feeling of helplessness you're experiencing now."

Avery looked up at her and she smiled with satisfaction at the defeat she saw there.

"What do you want me to do?" he asked weakly.

"Nothing."

"You're just going to keep me here?" asked Avery angrily, glaring at her.

"Not forever, Mr Avery," she answered calmly. "Just for as long as it takes."

Avery scowled at her and looked away. She smiled again and turned to look at the child.

"She can't see me, you know," she said lightly. She heard Avery move and laughed a little. "She can only see you."

When she turned back to look at him, the light brown eyes were full of fury.

"Oh yes," she whispered, dark delight dancing in her eyes. "She probably doesn't understand why her daddy's hurting her. Maybe you should explain."

Avery looked away again, and she scowled this time.

"I'm losing patience with you, Mr Avery."

"Katherine..."

Muriel rolled her eyes. "And the rest of it. _Katherine, I'm an evil man and-_"

"Take Katy and run!"

Muriel stared at him, completely thrown by this outburst and it was then that she realised he wasn't avoiding her gaze, he was looking at someone else. She whipped around and met the sapphire blue eyes of a stranger.

"What-?" she began, but the woman was already diving for the blonde haired girl and even though Muriel screamed at her hidden accomplices to stop her, the two of them were gone before the first stunner was fired.

Behind her, Avery laughed, his voice shaking with relief. Fuming she spun back, pointing her wand at his heart, but he only grinned, holding up his hands.

"Do what you like." The smile twisted into an expression of disgust. "I probably deserve it."

Muriel scowled down at the blond man before her, seething with rage. How dare he be so docile, so calm? Where was the fight she'd expected? The anger? The hurt? He wasn't supposed to give in this easily; how was she meant to break his spirit if he refused to show any?

Behind her, she heard Aubern and Reynolds shake off their concealment charms and saw Avery's dull gaze flicker over them as Reynolds cleared his throat.

"How do you know Katherine Riddle?" he asked, pale features drawn together in an expression that was half curious, half anxious. Muriel turned slightly, her grey eyes narrowed in a frown.

"What?" she asked. She'd only caught a glimpse of the woman before she'd disappeared, but surely it couldn't have been...

Reynolds gestured to the corner that had previously occupied the child, his hazel eyes fixed on Avery.

"That woman was Katherine Riddle. She's been in the papers with the rest of them. You know, she's mates with Antonin Dolohov and Bellatrix Lestrange and-" He stopped, looking sharply at Avery. "What's so funny?"

Avery, who was biting his lip on a laugh, shook his head. Aubern and Reynolds exchanged puzzled looks, but Muriel, delighted at the sudden show of emotion, raised her wand, a smile curling round her lips. Avery looked up at her, his grin fading, attention focused on the wand tip.

"I would say that you're going to regret your little friend's intervention," she said softly, meeting his gaze with hard grey eyes. "But I doubt you'll live that long."

x – X – x

Nicola trudged up the beaten path, pulling her cloak around her to keep warm. She'd forgotten how cold it could be up here; in the distance, she could see the castle, a black silhouette against the night sky, dotted with tiny squares of light where people had lit candles in the windows. Snow crunched beneath her feet as she reached the castle gates and swore softly. They were locked. Now what was she supposed to do?

She shivered and looked about her, wondering if there was another way in; Sirius Black had certainly found one. Hadn't Severus found him? Maybe if she went back now, she could ask-

A hastily stifled whimper made her turn around and squint into the darkness.

"Hello?"

A figure moved in the shadows and dark eyes gleamed in the starlight.

_"Katherine?"_

Katherine frowned, gazing at her uncertainly.

"Nicola? What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you – Julian told Severus you were up here," said Nicola, taking a step towards her. Katherine eyed her cautiously and took a step back, the small bundle in her arms moving. "Katherine? What's wrong?"

The bundle moved and another face peeked out at her, green eyes round with fear.

"Katy?" asked Nicola, breath catching. "You found her?"

Katherine nodded, eyes narrowed.

"Where's Robert?" said Nicola suddenly, looking around, as though expecting him to appear at any second.

"Still there," said Katherine softly, as Katy struggled, reaching out her arms for Nicola. "Who was the fourth boy you went out with in sixth year?"

Nicola stared at her. "What?" She laughed slightly, but Katherine's expression didn't change so she shrugged and answered: "Shaun Marriott. Technically - it was only one date."

Katherine gazed at her for a moment, cool eyes blank, then grinned. "You liar." Nicola frowned, confused, as Katherine held out the small girl. "Take her to F- to Professor Belle, will you? I think she needs checking over and I have to go find Robert; he didn't seem to be putting up much of a fight."

Nicola pulled her cloak around Katy as the small girl clung to her and stared at her old friend.

"What do you mean I'm a liar?" she asked, sounding a little affronted. Katherine smiled slightly, drawing her wand and meeting her gaze.

"If you didn't give a toss about him as you claimed at the time, why'd you remember his name?" she asked softly, a hint of mischief in her eyes.

"It was only one date, Katherine," frowned Nicola.

"Precisely."

Nicola half scowled at her, but decided there wasn't time to waste on petty arguments.

"Is Faye a Healer, then?"

Katherine nodded, then froze, staring at her in shock. "How-?"

"Doesn't matter," said Nicola, shaking her head. "Can you trust her? I mean, your family isn't usually very reliable-"

"You can trust her," cut in Katherine, though Nicola could tell she was still trying to work out how she knew about Faye. "Just...don't tell her anything, all right?"

"About what?"

"Anything she asks," shrugged Katherine, running a nervous hand through her hair. "You work at the Ministry, Nic, you should be good at dodging questions."

"Thanks for that, Katherine," said Nicola, arching an eyebrow to indicate her lack of amusement. "Now could you be helpful for once and tell me how on earth I'm supposed to get into the school?"

Katherine gazed at her for a moment, then waved her wand languidly. Something silver flew from the tip and bounded away up the slope towards the castle.

"Faye'll come and get you," she said calmly, as Nicola stared after the shape.

"What was-?" she began, turning back, but stopped, finding she was speaking to thin air. "Oh honestly." She sighed, breath clouding in the frosty air. Katy shifted in her arms and she looked down at her, the small head of blonde hair buried in her robes. Katherine had said she might need looking over, that someone might have harmed her...

And if Katy had been hurt, what was happening to Robert? She frowned, something Katherine had said ringing the set of metaphorical alarm bells in her head. _He didn't seem to be putting up much of a fight..._ A fight against what? Or who?

The hurried patter of footsteps on snow reached her ears and she turned, trying to discern the figure in the darkness; then a cloud moved and the light of an almost perfectly full moon illuminated a woman, blonde hair spilling out from under the hood of her cloak.

"Nicola?"

"Yes?"

Nicola stepped forward so that the woman could see her clearly.

"So you're another of the friends I'm not supposed to meet, huh?" asked Faye, pulling the gate open a little so that Nicola could slip through.

"Another?" asked Nicola, her eyebrows raised. "She's let you meet others?"

"Not exactly," frowned Faye, locking the gate and casting a worried glance up at the castle; there didn't seem to be anyone watching them, but it was so hard to tell. "I've...crossed paths with Snape and...Avery, was it? Yes, blond man, didn't seem to like me very much."

"He doesn't like anyone very much," said Nicola as they crept back up to the school. "Except family." Katy was quiet in her arms, small hands clutching tightly at her robes, eyes gazing around at the unfamiliar sights. "It's ok, sweetheart. Aunty Nicola's here," she said softly, as Katy buried her face in her shoulder again.

"Katherine said you might need to look at her," said Nicola as they reached the huge oak doors of the castle and slipped inside. Faye glanced at the small girl and the expression on her face made Nicola feel she was missing something.

"We'll take her to my room. She can stay here tonight – there's no where safer than Hogwarts at the moment."

"Ok," agreed Nicola softly as they climbed the first flight of stairs. There was silence for a moment then Nicola stopped and considered Faye critically. "Look, did she tell you something? Do you know what happened?"

"No," said Faye, frowning. "Come on, we might be seen-"

"You're lying."

"No I'm not."

"You are," said Nicola firmly. "I've spent my entire life with Slytherins and a good few years around your cousin - I can tell when people aren't telling the truth. What did she say might have happened?"

Faye sighed heavily and her gaze fell on the small girl in her arms.

"Honestly? You really don't want to know."

x – X – x

"Tough bastard, isn't he?" Aubern lowered his wand and looked at Muriel.

"Why have you stopped?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Aubern glanced at Avery, slumped on the floor with his head lolling on his chest, and pushed rusty brown hair out of his eyes.

"He's unconscious, Mur."

Muriel gazed at him, a sour expression on her face, then shrugged and crouched down in front of Avery, lifting his head with one hand and speaking softly.

"Wake up, Robert."

One brown eye flickered open and focused dimly on her thin face.

"Have you had enough?" she asked, as he tried to pull away. "Answer me, Mr Avery."

Avery yanked his head back, out of her hands and gazed insolently at her.

"Oh we're going to play that game, are we?" Muriel asked, sighing deeply. "Well I can keep this up for a _very_ long time, believe me. I wonder how long you'll last." She smiled as Avery looked away, and grabbed his chin again. "_Look at me when I'm speaking to you._"

Avery glared at her and muttered something under his breath.

"_Language_, Mr Avery. I'm sure your wife wouldn't like to hear you saying things like that." At the mention of Cassandra, Avery's eyes widened slightly and Muriel grinned; so his daughter wasn't his only weakness. "Who's going to rescue you now, Mr Avery? Where's the infamous Miss Riddle when you need her?"

Avery gazed unblinkingly at her, brown eyes cold with hate and when he spoke it was barely more than a whisper.

"Right behind you."

**x – X – x**

_Reviews encourage new chapters. :)_


	49. Change

**A/N:** This chapter overran again, but somehow I doubt you'll be complaining. :) Anyway, here it is, the last chapter before the Deathly Hallows comes out and this is officially made entirely AU and we find out the truth about Snape. This last point is the main reason for the talk at the end of the chapter as it clarifies exactly where Snape's loyalties lie in _this_ story. Happy reading!

**x – X – x**

**Chapter 48 – Change**

Avery gazed at his captor, watching as her expression turned from puzzlement to disbelief. Then, very slowly, she turned her head, looking up at the figure behind her.

Katherine smiled, blue eyes dark, and held up a wand.

Muriel's hand flew to her pocket, a look of horror crossing her face, and then her gaze fell on bodies of Aubern and Reynolds, lying slumped on the floor; she hadn't even heard them fall.

"Give that back," Muriel said very softly, eyes fixed on her wand. Katherine's smile grew a little.

"Or what?"

Muriel was silent, lips pursed, as Katherine twirled the wand deftly between her fingers.

"How did you get in here?" she asked after a long pause. Katherine's eyes glimmered and she tucked the stolen wand in the back of her jeans.

"Magic."

"There were wards," said Muriel darkly. Katherine shrugged, looking over her head at Avery, who was sitting with his arms resting on his knees, watching her.

"They weren't very good."

"Aurors would have had trouble breaking them," growled Muriel, not caring that she was unarmed and vulnerable; this woman was just standing there, making a mockery of everything she'd worked so hard for and it was getting on her nerves.

Katherine's blue gaze flickered back to her and one eyebrow raised very slightly.

"I'm not an Auror." She gave Muriel a quick smile and then dropped to a crouch, so that she was level with her. "What have you done to Robert?"

Muriel stared at her, waiting for her emotions to settle so she could work out how she was feeling. She should be angry or scared, but right now she was just confused; there was something very disconcerting about those benign blue eyes.

"I don't know what you mean," she said, holding her head a little higher and trying to stare her down.

"Oh I think you do," said Katherine softly, in the same calm voice. "Because if he was the normal Robert Avery we all know and love, he'd be trying to strangle you right about now, and, as you have probably noticed, he's not, _so tell me what you did._" The vehemence of the last few words made Muriel shrink back a little, and the fire that suddenly erupted in the other woman's eyes acutely raised her awareness of just how bad her position was, and then...images were flooding to front of her mind, the night she first saw Avery, the night he killed her sister, Rebecca, lying there on the floor, with dark figures standing over her, white masks hiding everything but their eyes...their eyes.

She pulled back, stumbling over and breaking eye contact. Katherine frowned, but she'd already learnt everything she wanted to know; Legilimency really could be very useful. She glanced over at Avery, who was now staring desolately at the floor.

"You were there too," whispered Muriel, fumbling for her wand before she remembered Katherine had it. "You just stood there, you're as bad as him," she shrieked, pointing a wild finger at Avery, who didn't move.

"Worse, actually," said Katherine musingly, gazing pensively at Avery. She looked sideways at Muriel and gave her a crooked smile. "Don't you read the papers?"

"I'll kill you both," hissed Muriel, positively seething now. Katherine just looked at her, a faintly amused expression on her face and murmured something that Muriel didn't catch. Before her, Avery raised his head a little and threw Katherine an odd look, but she only grinned and waved a careless hand at Muriel, who fell to the floor, unconscious.

"What did you mean by _not yet_?" asked Robert, his face screwed up in bewilderment.

"What?"

"You said 'not yet'," prompted Robert, leaning his head back against the wall and looking at her with puzzled brown eyes.

"Did I?" asked Katherine mildly, and Robert knew she wasn't going to tell him anything else. He sighed and looked at Muriel's prone form.

"Not going to kill her?" he asked, raising his eyebrows slightly.

"You didn't," said Katherine evenly, holding out his wand which she'd retrieved from one of the men currently out cold on the floor. Robert took it, gazing at it as though it wasn't quite there.

"Didn't seem right," he muttered. There was silence for a moment, then he looked up, shaking his head. "How's Katy?"

"Fine. She's safe. I'm more worried about you, to be honest," said Katherine, sitting down next to him and regarding fallen Muriel with a critical eye. "You do know she's mental, don't you? She's got a wall covered with pictures of you out there," she added, jerking her thumb towards an apparently solid wall.

"Out there?"

"This is a house," said Katherine looking round the room. "Her house, I guess. Tracked your signature here, but couldn't find you, so I looked for any concealment charms and hey presto, there you are, yelling at me to grab your kid and run."

"And you did," said Robert, giving her a curious look. "You didn't try and get me out."

"I would have if you'd asked," said Katherine, returning his look. "But you were rather emphatic."

"You still didn't question me, though," said Robert, studying her carefully.

"Is that a bad thing?" asked Katherine, not quite getting his point. He didn't seem upset, just...curious - like he'd completed a routine experiment and found a result that he hadn't expected.

"No, just...interesting." He frowned, looking back down at his wand. "You really would do anything for us, wouldn't you? I mean, you genuinely would; even if it wasn't what you'd choose to do."

Katherine was giving him a _very_ strange look now, bewildered and... Was he imagining it or was there a flicker of fear in those blue eyes?

"You're not supposed to be talking to me," he suddenly remembered, frowning. "Let alone acting the hero, or is that heroine? Why did you come?"

"Because you asked," said Katherine simply, twirling her own dark wand between her fingers now. "Yelled, really. Positively demanded, in fact. Loudly." She gave him a small grin, catching the wand in her hand. "And I promised to come if you needed me."

"Even though you're mad at us?" he asked, smiling slightly himself. Katherine's lips twitched, as though she'd been about to smile, but she looked away.

"Even though I'm mad at you," she repeated, gazing idly at the ceiling; Robert frowned, studying her profile.

"Katherine?"

"Yes?" She looked sideways at him, eyebrows raised questioningly.

"You _are_ mad at us, aren't you?"

"Furious."

"Except you're not, are you?" said Robert carefully, as she gazed at him with innocent blue eyes.

"No." She grinned, as Robert shook his head despairingly.

"Were you ever?"

"Oh yeah," said Katherine fervently, turning her head to look at him properly. "For about half an hour. It's not my fault if you all fall for the same trick twice."

"That trick being splitting up our friendships so we don't get each other hurt?" asked Robert with a sigh. "Except that's not really working, is it?" He gestured round the room at the bodies lying in small heaps on the floor. Katherine shrugged, looking shrewdly at him.

"Oh I don't know. I'm not hurt, and you appear to have all your vital organs in tact. Neither of us are any worse off than the aftermath of the average meeting. Not physically, anyway." She left the unspoken words hanging in the air and Robert looked over at Muriel again, her mousy brown hair falling over her face.

"I'm fine," he said quietly and Katherine gave a soft, humourless, laugh.

"No you're not. I'm practically an expert on not being fine, Rob, and you are most definitely _not_ fine."

Robert shrugged, frowning dismally into middle distance.

"It wasn't your fault," said Katherine gently. "I remember that mission, Rob. The kid ran in front of your hex, you didn't mean to hit her."

"She was eight."

"She was an idiot."

"How do you know?" asked Robert harshly, turning angrily on her. "She never got to grow up because of me."

"She ran in front of a Death Eater's wand," said Katherine sharply, matching his furious gaze. "Somehow that doesn't scream 'genius', to me."

"She was trying to protect her mother," retorted Robert, irritation rising in his voice. How could she be so cool about this?

"If she was smart, she would have worked out that there was nothing she could do."

"If we were smart, we wouldn't be trying to bring down the Dark Lord. Sometimes people do stupid things because they have to," responded Robert, almost shouting now.

"Right, and does torturing a five year old come under the heading of things people need to do?" asked Katherine, arching an eyebrow. Robert stared at her, almost completely lost, before he realised she was talking about Katy.

"What's that got to do with anything?" he asked quietly, confused.

"That woman is insane," said Katherine softly, gesturing to Muriel. "She saw her older sister die when she was, what, about four? That kind of thing doesn't beget normal, well balanced adults. You're only feeling guilty because she'd made you think it was your fault, that you purposefully intended to kill her sister, because that's what _she_ believes, but that's not what happened."

"What difference does it make whether I intended to or not?" shouted Robert, breathing hard. "I still did it." He looked at her, eyes overly bright. "We put it behind us and pretend it never happened because we need to function, but we never think there are going to be consequences, that people actually get hurt. She's right, Katherine, we're not nice people."

Katherine threw him a contemptuous look and shook her head wearily.

"Of course we're not nice, Rob, we've killed people, we're _Death Eaters_."

"And that doesn't bother you?"

"No," said Katherine sharply, glaring at the floor. "Not right now. Like you said, we can't afford to let it."

"But we should-" started Robert, but Katherine cut across him, blue eyes blazing.

"No we shouldn't. You want to end up wasting away your life in Azkaban, wallowing in your own guilt?"

"Better to end up like you, is it?" asked Robert, looking coldly at her. "Suppressing everything until you go mental?" Katherine was silent for a long moment, and Robert rather got the impression that she was trying to calm down before she said anything she'd regret.

"Go home, Robert," she said at last. "Talk to your wife. Do whatever you need to do to get rid of the guilt and move on, because we've got a job to do and we can't do that if you're moping."

"I'm not _moping_," growled Robert, glaring at her. "I can't just stop feeling guilty – it's not that simple."

"It wasn't your fault-"

"Maybe not that time," said Robert quickly, shaking his head. "What about all the other times?"

Katherine frowned, looking a little irritated.

"You're a nasty person, Rob, deal with it. The rest of us have."

"I can change," said Robert softly, pushing light blond hair out of his eyes. Katherine sighed heavily, running a weary hand over her face.

"Go home, Robert."

He looked sideways at her, frowning slightly. "You don't think I can?"

She turned her head and looked at him, giving a half shrug. "Maybe you can, but it's not easy to start over, take it from me."

"Yeah, but you went from good to bad – you had all that guilt to deal with," argued Robert.

"And you think it'll be easier to go the other way?" asked Katherine, eyebrows raised. "You've got a whole load of guilt over stuff you've done. On top of that, no one will trust you and you won't get any thanks."

She shook her head and leant against the wall, eyes closed. Robert watched her for a moment, wondering if she was thinking about Sirius and his friends. It was incredible she'd stayed with him as long as she had, actually, because there'd been opposition from just about every side, but then...what choice had she had? In the end, she'd had no where else to go.

"I will change," he said, and there was determination in his voice.

"You want to change, you go and show your wife you're still alive," said Katherine, eyes still closed. "She's probably going frantic."

A stab of guilt hit him at the mention of Cassandra. He was going to have to explain about Muriel and what had happened to Katy...

He felt Katherine's eyes on him and looked up.

"Nowhere to run," she said softly, and he wondered if she'd been reading his mind. "Facing the unknown's got to be better than speculating about it. Go home - I'll clear things up here."

Slowly he nodded, and she gave him a half smile and indicated a blank patch of wall.

"There's a concealed door there; stairs are on your left. I think we're somewhere in Norfolk, but you can apparate outside the house, anyway."

"Right," he mumbled, getting to his feet and making for the door, looking back when she called him.

"Forgot this," she said, holding up a tattered brown bear. "Don't seem to be any charms still on it," she added, tossing it at him. He caught it, the fur disconcertingly soft beneath his fingers; some time in the past couple of hours, he'd forgotten that small fluffy things existed.

He cast another glance at Katherine, who was gazing thoughtfully at the fallen bodies on the floor, and frowned slightly. He'd been so sure he'd got her worked out, but now...there was a whole five years of her life that he'd had no part of and another fifteen that she'd spent in Azkaban, not mention a good couple of years traipsing around the country hunting horcruxes. That was a lot of time to be out of touch and yet she hadn't seemed any different when she'd come back - same old Katherine, flirting with death, winding up Lestrange...

Yet now, looking at her properly, he didn't see the Katherine that he'd known at Hogwarts. There was something different, something he couldn't quite place-

"Robert Avery, if you don't go home this minute, I shall personally see to it that your entire office knows about that night out in Edinburgh in sixth year."

Robert held up his hands defensively, smiling faintly. "I'm going, I'm going. You sure you're all right here?"

Katherine looked up at him, a sly grin on her face. "Don't you trust me?"

"'Course I do-"

"Then go."

Robert hesitated for a second later, then shrugged his shoulders and left, resolutely ignoring the whispers at the back of his head that were reminding him it was Katherine who had once told him never to trust anyone.

x – X – x

It was dark in the kitchen when Severus heard the door open softly. He looked up at the figure, black eyes glimmering in the dim moonlight seeping in through the window, and said nothing. She stared back, then shut the door quietly and came to sit opposite him at the table.

"Wondered if you were going to show up," he said at last in a low voice, turning the lukewarm cup of tea round in his hands.

"Did Robert get back all right?" she asked, conjuring up a candle out of nowhere and setting it on the table. He blinked in the sudden glow of light and nodded.

"Had an almighty row with Cassandra. He's on the sofa, and she's with Katy. Nicola wouldn't let them go home tonight, just in case."

"How is Katy?"

"Fine, I think. She's still at Hogwarts," said Severus slowly, watching at her. "With your cousin." Blue eyes held his gaze and he gave her a thoughtful look. "You already knew, didn't you."

"That you know about Faye? Yeah." Katherine smiled slightly, a spark of mischief in her eyes. "Your cousin told me."

"Julian? How does he know?"

"He worked it out when Trix kidnapped her," shrugged Katherine, gaze shifting to the candle, which was starting to drip wax on the glossy surface of Nicola's kitchen table. "Also worked out you helped her." She looked back at him, eyes studying him critically. "Which is giving me no end of headache."

"What?" He wasn't quite sure what he'd expected her to say, but it wasn't that.

"You helped her," said Katherine softly, resting her arm on the table and propping up her chin, blue eyes gazing soulfully at him. "All the things you could have done, and you helped her. You're a complicated man, Severus Snape."

Severus just stared at her, wondering fleetingly if she'd been drinking.

"I am?" was all he could manage in the end. She smiled, leaning back again and stretching.

"Yes you are. Think I've got you sussed and you go and act completely out of character and I have to revise all my opinions of you. Still, not a complete revision, hmm? Still acting like a child, aren't you?" Her eyes had lost their playful air now, and her expression was far from happy.

"Lupin?"

"That would be what I was referring to, yes," said Katherine, though her voice wasn't as cold as he'd expected. "Petty school boy grudges should be left in the past where they belong, Severus."

"He would have lost the job anyway," said Severus, setting his mug down the table and holding her gaze. "Haven't you heard? The position's cursed; no one lasts more than a year."

"Don't be ridiculous," said Katherine, sighing. "You're just avoiding the point."

"I'm not being ridiculous," said Severus, scowling. "Your father cursed it when Dumbledore refused him the job."

"Dad applied for the Defence Against the Dark Arts post?" asked Katherine, both eyebrows raised. "Are you kidding?"

"Dumbledore told me," said Severus softly. "I wanted to take it, but he wouldn't let me."

"Wanted you where he could see you?" questioned Katherine, a slight smile on her face.

"Perhaps," replied Severus, shrugging as though this was of no importance, but Katherine's sudden frown made him hesitate. "What?"

"But he did."

"What?" Severus was confused now.

"He let you take it – I heard Draco talking about how you'd been teaching DADA last year-" She stopped, something like realisation crossing her face. "Oh."

"Oh?" Severus studied her in the light from the candle, mind racing. She couldn't possibly know- He stopped, almost chastising himself.

Once. She'd only ever brought up the subject of Dumbledore once. Well twice, actually, but the second time had only been to make a point about something else, not to make him feel guilty.

"How long have you known?" he asked, surprised to find his voice so quiet.

"A while," said Katherine, giving him a small smile. "I mean, even you're not that ungrateful, and there was the Unbreakable Vow and that stuff you said about-" She stopped, eyeing him dubiously. "You know about the horcruxes, don't you?"

"Of course."

"Right, well if Dumbledore told you about them you must have been close, and I _know _you, maybe not as well as I thought, but I do, and you couldn't betray someone who had that much faith in you." She poked the candle with her finger, letting a dribble of wax collect in a droplet on her nail. "You don't let a lot of people near you, so those you do, you're loyal to. Same as me." She looked up at him, flicking the wax off her finger and smiling gently. "And Dumbledore wouldn't have given you a job he knew was cursed if he'd expected you to hang around past the end of the year."

"You're not angry?" he asked, not sure whether he was curious or just shocked.

"You did what you had to," said Katherine quietly, and though her eyes were focused on him, he got the impression she was thinking about something else. "I can understand that. In a perfect world it wouldn't have come to that, but it did, and there's nothing else you could have done."

Out in the hall, the clock chimed twelve, and the stillness that had encompassed the room was shattered.

"So that was Christmas," said Katherine, a crooked smile on her face. "Started out normal, winds up back here, with the world all out of shape. Some holiday."

"Sorry. You were meant to be spending it with Faye, weren't you," said Severus, looking solemnly at her. Katherine waved a hand carelessly.

"It's fine. I wanted to spend it with family." She grinned and he saw some of the old spark come back. "Reckon I did that. Raving psychopaths excepted, of course. Funny, I don't even know her name."

"Muriel," supplied Severus, thinking back to what Robert had said when he'd stumbled in. "Muriel Schaft. Robert said you dealt with her."

"Yeah, I did," said Katherine quietly, smiling faintly. "She's not going to bothering anyone any time soon."

Severus smiled, feeling that the world was settling back into it's usual tract once more.

"D'you think Cassandra's going to forgive him?" he asked, referring to Robert. Katherine leant back in her chair, stifling a yawn.

"'Course she will – she loves him. That's what you do. Might take a while, that's all." She smiled and shook out her long hair, running a hand through it to loosen it, so that it fell about her shoulders, gleaming ebony in the candle light. "Happy Christmas, Severus."

Severus smiled, raising his now cold cup of tea in a mock toast. "Happy Christmas, Katherine."

**x – X – x**

I'm on holiday next week, so the next chapter will be a while. Have fun reading Deathly Hallows, I know I will, and rest assured, I have the ending of this story planned out in my head, so I will finish it, no matter what happens in Book Seven...

Dactyl (Nana) x


	50. The midnight raid

**A/N:** Just a note to say that this story won't be changing post-Deathly Hallows. I already planned out what was going to happen, so I'll be sticking to that. I do, however, applaud JKR for a fantastic end to the series and I shan't say anymore in case anyone hasn't yet read book seven. :)

Oh yes and when I planned this chapter, it was meant to be in one piece, but I've had to split it because it was too long. This said, I apologise for the cliffie – I didn't mean it for once. ;)

**x – X – x**

**Chapter 49 – The midnight raid**

"How well do you know Professor McGonagall?"

Severus looked up to find bright blue eyes studying him with an expression somewhere between irritation and determined curiosity.

"Professor?" he questioned mildly, one thin eyebrow raised in amusement. Katherine sank into the seat opposite him and shrugged.

"She's always going to be Professor to me, Sev."

Severus half thought of making a biting reply but decided against it - she'd called him Sev, for the first time in he didn't know how long, and he wasn't going to jinx her good mood. He settled instead for a cautious reply to her question.

"Reasonably well. Why?"

Katherine rested her elbows on the table and propped up her chin on one hand. "Where does she go when she's not at Hogwarts?"

"Why on earth would you want to know that?" asked Severus, frowning deeply. He couldn't see any reason for Katherine needing to reach McGonagall unless-

"I just want to talk to her," replied Katherine, but her open expression was making him suspicious. She must have noticed this, because she rolled her eyes and leant back in her chair, treating him to a disparaging look.

"Don't you trust me?"

"I think you'd do a lot to keep your cover," he said carefully, studying her with narrowed eyes. He knew he hadn't a hope of using Legilimency on her, but there was more than one way of reading people.

"As would you," she retorted, a wicked grin spreading across her face, and the jolt in his stomach surprised him; he hadn't realised just how much he'd missed that smile.

"Only what I have to," he said softly, considering her with a thoughtful air. Did he trust her? Yes, but that didn't mean he automatically forgot what she was capable of. He trusted her to look after herself and possibly a few others, and he wasn't entirely sure Minerva McGonagall was important enough to register on Katherine's radar.

Those vivid blue eyes were still settled on him, and he suddenly came to a decision. Only time would tell whether it was the right one. "She goes to the Three Broomsticks some evenings," he said quietly, and before he'd finished speaking he could see the wheels beginning to turn in her head, formulating a plan. In the slight pause, he frowned, a thought occurring to him.

"Katherine?"

"Hmm?" She wasn't looking at him, just worrying her lip slightly, lost in thought.

"Why are you asking me this? Surely you could just go to Faye? She'd have the most up to date information – she could probably arrange a meeting if you really wanted." He watched as a vaguely guilty look flickered across her face and she glanced up at him, grimacing.

"Yeah, well, that might be a bit difficult given present circumstances."

"You haven't fallen out, have you?" he asked, the frown that wrinkled his forehead borne more out of a slight sense of exasperation than concern for the blonde witch. "I've met her, Katherine, and I don't think she can cope with the way your mind works."

Katherine shot him with a wry smile, half abashed, half wicked.

"No, we haven't fallen out," she said, shaking her head and waving a careless hand to dismiss such notions. "And I really don't get why everyone thinks she's such an angel. The fact that I'm a notorious criminal does not automatically make her a saint."

"She's better behaved than you," shot back Severus, but Katherine only laughed. "Oh? I didn't pounce on her oldest friend the moment her back was turned."

It took Severus a moment to work out exactly what she meant by this remark, but when he realised he arched his eyebrows in surprise.

"Lupin? Really?"

Katherine nodded, a cheeky grin on her face. "Just after the first war ended – I'd warned her not to come back while Tom was still around, but he'd gone by then and I suppose she wanted to find out exactly what had happened to me." She sighed, fingers wrapped around the pendant on her necklace. "I don't think it lasted very long – she had a job to get back to and, well, you know Remus – tends to push people away if they get too close. Tonks seems to be managing quite well, though, to give her credit. Interesting woman, Tonks."

"You've met her?" Severus couldn't keep the incredulity out of his voice; he would have paid a fair amount of money to have seen Tonks' reaction to Lupin's oldest friend.

"A few times," nodded Katherine, running a distracted hand through gleaming ebony hair. "Got the impression she doesn't like me very much. Then again, not many people like me very much." She smiled ruefully, hands dropping into her lap as she sunk a little in her chair. "They just don't take the time to get to know me."

"I think the problem lies in the fact that they do know you, Katherine," remarked Severus, with a vaguely amused air. "The entire wizarding world knows who you are."

"They know what I've done," said Katherine, shaking her head and gazing absently at her nails. "That's not a reflection of who I am."

"No, I don't suppose it is." The sincerity in his voice made Katherine look up, blue eyes slightly stunned, momentarily caught off guard. He smiled a little, green eyes dark in the lamplight. "Your actions never seem to bear any relation to your thoughts. Sometimes I think you don't know what the hell you're doing."

"Making it up as I go along," she said quietly, giving him a small smile. "You need to think fast to stay alive."

"The Dark Lord hasn't got any plans concerning Hogwarts," said Severus quickly, curiosity and anxiety getting the better of him. "What do you want with McGonagall?"

"You really think so?" Katherine was watching him with open interest, but her question confused him.

"What?"

"That Tom doesn't have any plans for the school?" she prompted, tilting her head a little, that small, sad smile tugging at her lips again.

"Not immediate ones," said Severus, though he knew full well what she was getting at. The time was going to come when the Dark Lord would take a real interest in Hogwarts and when he did they'd both be called upon to help him. The only thing keeping him away at present was the illusion that Katherine was teaching there, supposedly screening potential Death Eaters and spreading his message. "You didn't answer my question. What's McGonagall got to do with anything?"

Katherine sighed heavily, gazing up at the ceiling and said bitterly: "I mentioned that New Year is Tom's birthday and now Trix wants to get him a present."

"Hogwarts?"

"The Prophecy."

"What?" Severus stared at her in horror as she brought her gaze down and shrugged tiredly.

"I know, I've _told_ her it won't work, but will she listen-"

"What does Hogwarts have to do with the Prophecy?" asked Severus, interrupting her before she could start on Bella's many infuriating qualities. Katherine blinked in surprise, then said:

"Trelawney."

"Trelawney?" he repeated, staring blankly at her. "What does Bella want with her?"

"She made the Prophecy," answered Katherine, casting her eyes heavenwards once more. "Trix thinks this means she'll know it. I tried telling her she won't remember it, but since when has she listened to me?"

"Are you sure she won't know it?" asked Severus, the impact of what she was saying kicking in. If the Dark Lord got hold of the Prophecy the chances of Potter defeating him fell somewhat.

"Severus, no Seer _ever_ remembers their prophecies," replied Katherine with a heavy sigh, shaking her head despairingly.

"But if they're alone, how are they recorded?" asked Severus, utterly bewildered. Katherine fought the urge to roll her eyes and settled for a wry smile instead.

"They're not – the Ministry only have records of the prophecies that were made in someone else's presence. If no one heard, we don't know about them." She grinned sympathetically at the disconcerted look on his face. "It's not a big deal. There's too many prophecies gracing the shelves at the DoM as it is, if you ask me. Best to leave them well alone – no one wants their life ruled by Fate."

Something in her voice made him frown, but he couldn't quite work out what it was. Was that slight note of dejection stemming from knowledge of the Prophecy or from something else entirely? After all, she knew as well as him that it came down to Potter or the Dark Lord, and, for all his failings, Tom Riddle was still her father. And Katherine Riddle still cared.

"You're going to warn McGonagall, aren't you?" he asked, gazing at her with a renewed sense of curiosity. "About the attack. That's why you want to find her."

"Wouldn't hurt to keep the kids safe, would it?" responded Katherine, and Severus caught the defensive tone of her voice. "If Trix gets Trelawney she can't complain. It's not as though we've got orders to kill anyone, and if she doesn't come across any students she can't be tempted."

"You're going to let her get Trelawney?" questioned Severus, doubt lacing his words. Despite her reputation, Katherine didn't tend to hurt people if she could avoid it. Well, she didn't tend to hurt people if they didn't deserve it, at least.

"Trelawney is McGonagall's problem," said Katherine levelly. "Even if Trix gets her, she won't learn anything."

"In other words, you're not going to risk your neck for some woman you've never met."

"Got a problem with that?"

"No," replied Severus calmly. "But I really do think you ought to make it up with Lupin."

"Remus? You think I should talk to Remus?_ You _think I should talk to Remus?" She stared at him, suddenly suspicious. "Who are you and what in Salazar's name have you done with Severus Snape?"

"Don't be flippant-" he began, eyebrows creasing into a frown.

"I wasn't," she interrupted darkly. "You loathe Remus. Why would you want me to make it up with him? How did you even know we'd fallen out?"

"Robert mentioned it," shrugged Severus. "And I don't loathe Lupin-"

"Yes you do – you think he tried to kill you."

"No, _Black_ tried to kill me."

Katherine's eyes narrowed, and Severus got the distinct impression that she was trying to decide whether to smirk or not.

"Don't tell me you've stopped blaming Rem?" she asked at last, a different emotion flickering in her sapphire coloured eyes and it took him a moment to recognise it for it was. Pride. She was proud of him.

This thought was the only thing that kept him from sneering and saying instead:

"Like you said, the past should be left where it belongs. There are more important things to think about right now." Their gazes locked and she smiled gently, a hint of sadness in her dark blue eyes.

"Yes, I rather think there are."

x – X – x

Minerva McGonagall walked the halls of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and wondered for the hundredth time why she was doing this. Death Eaters as a rule couldn't be trusted and yet here she was, proving to Katherine Riddle of all people, that she did just that. She stopped outside the wooden door, knocked once and waited, her former pupil's words echoing in her head.

_"Get Faye out of the way, I don't want her being spotted or getting hurt. I don't care how you do it, just get her out of the castle, that's all I'm asking..."_

All she was asking. The temporary absence of her younger cousin in exchange for information about a planned attack on the castle. She'd been suspicious, of course, but Katherine had looked so genuine and she couldn't for the life of her come up with a plausible reason for her to lie.

"Oh hello. Everything all right?" Faye was standing in front of her, blonde hair tied up in a loose bun. McGonagall nodded, taking a steadying breath and gripping her wand more tightly in her pocket.

"Everything's fine. And I'm _really_ sorry about this..."

x – X – x

Katherine stood in the headmistress' office and stared at the slumbering portrait before her. She highly doubted he was really asleep, but didn't care. It wasn't as though she wanted to hear anything he had to say, anyway. Except...

"Why did you have to ask him?" The sleeping eyes remained closed, but she was sure he'd heard. "It's not as though people don't hate him enough already. Or was that why?" More silence. "I really don't like you, you know."

The faint sound of footsteps reached her ears, getting louder by the second and then the door swung open and she heard a hastily stifled gasp of surprise.

"Hello Professor."

"I did what you asked," said McGonagall, entering the room and shutting the door carefully behind her. "She's...safe."

Katherine turned her head to look curiously at her old teacher and a slow grin crept across her face.

"Was that a threat?"

McGonagall held her head a little higher and walked over to her desk, though Katherine noticed she didn't sit down; she didn't want to lose the mental advantage of her height.

"It is...a precaution," she said calmly, eyeing her former pupil distrustfully. Katherine grinned and looked back at Dumbledore's portrait.

"Never trust a Slytherin."

"Something like that, yes."

"He wouldn't have done that," said Katherine quietly, though there was still a smile on her face. "Then again, I may not have warned him." She glanced at McGonagall, expression serious once more. "Don't worry. If Faye's safe, I'll keep my part of the bargain. Good luck." She turned to leave, but cast one last look back, eyeing a spot just behind McGonagall. "You too, Shacklebolt."

There was a slight pause after the door closed behind her, and then the tall black Auror removed his concealment charm and exchanged a bemused look with McGonagall.

"How did she know you were there?" asked Minerva, staring after her.

"Well Alastor always does say she's good," murmured Kingsley, looking thoughtful. "Good enough to get into this office without opening the door."

"You didn't see how she got in?"

"No," replied Kingsley, frowning deeply. "One minute I'm alone and next she's standing in the middle of the office."

"But she didn't see you?" asked McGonagall, peering out of the window towards the school gates. Katherine had said she was going to open them to let the Death Eaters in; she just hoped the Order was ready.

"I don't think so - she didn't seem to, at least. Started speaking to Dumbledore's portrait," said Kingsley, joining her at the window.

"What did she say?"

"Not much." He paused, dark eyes catching sight of something that might have been a shadow rippling across the grounds below. "Maybe she did know I was there - she asked about someone but didn't say his name."

The shadow reached the gates and a minute later they swung open. McGonagall raised her eyebrows, sucking in a breath.

"She wasn't joking, was she? She really can get them in without setting off any of the wards."

"And yet she told us she was going to," said Kingsley, pulling out his wand and heading for the door, McGonagall close on his heels. "Remind me again - exactly who's side is she on?"

x – X – x

"It's a bloody ambush, Riddle!" Bellatrix sent another killing curse at her attacker who cast a shield charm to deflect it. Next to her, Katherine was duelling with a dark haired wizard who bore the badge of an Auror on his robes.

"And I suppose that's my fault, is it?" yelled Katherine, dodging a Stunner and cursing the culprit so badly he flew a couple of feet into the air before landing in a heap on the grass.

"You must have let something slip-"

"Oh yeah, right." Katherine's usually calm voice was full of sarcasm. "'Cause that's the kind of thing you just happen to mention in conversation. _Could you pass the salt, Filius, and by the way, we're planning an attack on the school tonight-_" She broke off as a scalding hex hummed past her ear and threw a Stunner at Bella's opponent who crumpled like a paper doll. "We're outnumbered, Trix. We should leave."

"Not without the Seer," hissed Bella, flinging a curse at an approaching Auror and glaring at the younger woman in the starlight. Katherine glowered right back, but sighed.

"Fine, you go find her. I'll lead the retreat – they'll think we've gone, so you can slip into the castle and get her unnoticed. Sound good?"

Bella was about to answer when there was a scream, and they turned in time to see a black hooded figure fall to the floor.

"Fine," snapped Bella, casting a Disillusionment charm on herself. "But you better not be up to anything."

"That hurt, Trix," said Katherine, casting a reproachful look at the patch of shimmering air where the elder woman had stood a moment before. "As if I'd ever double cross you."

She just heard Bella's scornful laugh above the noise of the fight, and then she was gone, running up the slope towards the castle. Katherine eyed the castle doors for a moment, then turned her attention back to the battle. At least one of them was dead already; it was time to move before they lost anymore.

**x – X – x**

_Reviews are greatly appreciated. I'd love to hear what you think . :)_


	51. Tartarus super gelavit

**A/N:** First off, thanks for all the lovely reviews and here's a nice prompt update as a reward; secondly, I overran again, but I really can't split this chapter so I'll just post it all together and thirdly, the sign that's mentioned in this chapter can be seen on my profile page in the little avatar/icon thing. It was easier to draw it than try to describe it. ;)

And because it was the biggest response I've had for a while, I'm dedicating this chapter to everyone who reviewed the last one, so this is especially for:

_kitty-goes-meow42, sinfully imperfect, Passing Bells, mommasgirl, Alaerisil, mandita, dem0 & Aurora Tonks_

Enjoy!

**x – X – x**

**Chapter 50 – Tartarus super gelavit**

"Remus Lupin."

The voice made Remus' flesh crawl, but he turned around all the same, wand at the ready. He'd been searching for Faye amongst the fighters, but he couldn't find her anywhere; maybe Katherine had found her already - presuming Katherine was here. He chided himself mentally – of course she was here, she usually turned up wherever there was trouble and there was certainly trouble now, unfolding right in front of him.

He narrowed his eyes at the figure that stood before him now, the glow from the castle lighting his scarred face clearly. He'd clearly dispense with the customary hood already – had probably felt it got in the way. What was the point in being feared if you didn't let people know it was you behind the mask?

"Good evening Fenrir."

"I heard you got yourself a girlfriend, Lupin."

Remus' muscles tensed at the mention of Tonks; she was out there somewhere, among the duellers...

"You stay away from her," he warned, sending a curse at Fenrir which he parried easily.

"Or what? What's the tame 'wolf gonna do to me, huh?" His lips curved in a snarl and he leapt forward, but before he could reach Remus, a stream of silver light knocked him back, howling, onto the grass. Remus turned his head in time to see a masked figure disappear among the other fighters, black hair falling loose under their hood. He frowned, but next moment someone was knocking him to the floor as a jet of green flew over his head.

"What are you doing, Remus? You can't just stand around in the middle of a battlefield!" Remus drew breath again as his assailant rolled off him and he saw the familiar bubble gum pink locks of Tonks.

"Sorry, got a bit distracted," he muttered, as someone nearby screamed. He sat up, deflecting a stray curse and looking around to try and see who it was.

"One of theirs," said Tonks, pointing, and Remus felt his breath catch in his throat as he caught sight of the body. It was female. _Not Katherine, please not-_

_"James, no!"_

The shout kick started his heart again; he knew that voice. Sure enough, among the sudden flurry of movement he caught sight of his old friend, dressed in jeans and a black jumper, trying to restrain a red haired man who was twisting furiously in her grip.

"He killed her, he killed Allie, I'm going to murder him!"

In the struggle, the man's mask slipped and Remus realised with a start that he recognised him. It was James McKenzie. He'd changed, to be sure, but the ruby red hair and fierce brown eyes were unmistakable as the Slytherin boy who'd been in his year at school.

"James-" Katherine was still trying to hold him back with the help of another figure, but James wrenched himself free and Remus saw her stagger backwards and trip, landing on the ground with a thud as James made for his sister's killer.

"They're withdrawing." Tonks' voice made him tear his gaze away from Katherine and look around. She was right – most of the Death Eaters were fleeing, running for the main gates and vanishing into the darkness. "Why are they leaving?"

Remus was half way through a shrug when he stopped, looking back at Katherine, now getting to her feet, nursing a bruised elbow. She didn't see him - she was looking up at the castle, a pensive expression on her face...

"It's a decoy," he said suddenly, grabbing Tonks' wrist. "Is anyone patrolling the castle?"

"A couple of people, but most wanted to help here," replied Tonks, her dark eyes widening in horror. "But surely the Death Eaters wouldn't leave if they wanted to-?"

"Maybe it's not the castle they're after," cut in Remus, looking worried. "Maybe it's something inside." He glanced back at Katherine and their eyes met for a second. She shot him a small smile then turned on her heel and ran into the safety of the trees where the Aurors' curses couldn't find her. "How did McGonagall know there was going to be an attack tonight?"

"She said Dumbledore's portrait mentioned it was You-Know-Who's birthday and he might try something," said Tonks, standing up and brushing herself off.

"I wouldn't think Voldemort is the type to celebrate birthdays," said Remus, trying to ignore the nagging feeling that something was wrong. "Or the type to leave it to his Death Eaters to take Hogwarts without him."

"We better check the castle," said Tonks, already turning to look for helpers.

"Yes-" Remus stopped, looking back at the place Katherine had disappeared. The trees. She'd gone into the Forest. The Forest – where even Hagrid didn't dare go anymore...

"Remus?" Tonks' shout followed him as he headed for the trees but he didn't stop. Skilled Katherine may be, but there was only so much one wand could do against an entire herd of angry centaurs...

x – X – x

"That's not very friendly."

"It's not meant to be, human."

Katherine eyed the spear pointed at her neck warily.

"I thought you were meant to be noble," she said, meeting the gaze of the chestnut coloured centaur at the other end of the offending weapon. "Fair fighting and all that."

"And you are meant to respect our laws, human, yet here you are, trespassing," replied the centaur, jabbing his spear slightly so that Katherine took a step back.

"This is Hogwarts land, not yours," retorted Katherine, scowling at him. "Honestly, I never thought centaurs of all species would be cowards."

"Cowards?"

"Well you're outnumbering me by about twenty to one," she pointed out, gesturing at the figures grouped around her. "And from what I hear, you're also refusing to fight in the war."

"It is not our war." The centaur's voice was low and there was a barely concealed tremor of anger running through it.

"Not yet."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You think the Dark Lord's going to stop at muggles?" she asked, blue eyes gazing mockingly at him. "It'll be unworthy magical creatures next – the goblins and the elves. How long before it's you? You should read Niemöller's poem. Very appropriate, I'd say."

"We do not take advice from wizards."

"He wasn't a wizard – he was a muggle."

"That is hardly better."

"Alioth!" The hail made the centaur raise his gaze and look behind Katherine. "We found another one."

A man was thrust into the circle of centaurs, the force of the shove making him stumble and fall to his knees on the soft undergrowth. Katherine stared at him in surprise, barely noticing the renewed movement among the centaurs.

"Remus? What are you doing here?"

"Trying to stop you getting into trouble," replied Remus, accepting the offer of her hand in getting to his feet. "I see that I failed."

"Yeah well, you know me," said Katherine softly, smiling wanly.

"Yes," said Remus, with a slight smile of his own, because even though they were lost in the middle of the Forbidden Forest surrounded by angry centaurs, they were together and the smile on her face told him that nothing had changed between them. "I do."

"I'm sorry." Remus blinked, staring at her.

"What?"

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have run out on you – I was just hurt and angry and I didn't give you a chance to-"

"You're saying sorry?" The incredulity in his voice made Katherine grin.

"Is that so very odd?"

"Yes," said Remus firmly, gazing at her. "You never admit you're wrong. Ever."

"Admit? Are you implying that usually I am wrong and just don't-"

"You will cease talking." The deep voice made both of them look around and gaze at the speaker. It was a big, black centaur with wild hair and muscles that gleamed in the starlight. "We meet again, Miss Riddle."

Remus glanced uncertainly at Katherine who was frowning at the centaur, trying to put a name to the face.

"Bane?"

"You know each other?" asked Remus quietly as the black centaur stepped forward, spear held upright in his hand.

"Sort of," muttered Katherine, eyeing the spear with not undue uneasiness. Still, at least he wasn't pointing it _at _them. Yet.

"What are you doing in our Forest?"

Katherine was about to reply with a caustic remark on the dubious ownership of said forest, but Remus caught her expression and gave her a pointed nudge, shaking his head very slightly. Katherine sighed and looked back at Bane, shrugging off her irritation.

"Running away from Aurors, if you must know. 'Least I was - Remus was trying to stop me."

"Running from the Aurors or entering the Forest?" questioned Bane, turning his dark gaze on Remus.

"The latter, I hope."

"What does it matter why she is here?" asked a fawn coloured centaur, stamping his hooves restlessly. "She is still here."

"She does not live at the castle," said Bane in a quiet voice that nevertheless carried in the still clearing. "She may not have been aware of the new...agreement."

"Agreement? Is that what you're calling it?" asked Katherine, as beside her Remus rolled his eyes and gave her a pleading look.

"Katherine, are you determined to get us killed?"

"Sorry."

The centaurs, however, were not taking much notice of them; they appeared to be having some sort of hushed argument.

"D'you think we could run for it?" asked Katherine, trying to make out what they were saying.

"No." Remus' voice was tired and she looked around in time to see him drag a weary hand over his face.

"Sorry," she said again, grimacing.

"That's the third time you've said that," remarked Remus, giving her a hopeless look. "Stop it. You're making me nervous."

"Because I'm apologising?"

"Yes - you don't usually do it."

"Just another thing that's different about me, huh?" Her voice was light, but the expression that accompanied it was serious. "What did you mean, Remus? When you said I'd changed?"

"Oh I don't know, just that-"

Remus' reply was cut off as a spear was launched at them and Katherine shoved him aside before dropping to the floor herself. The spear flew over her head and stuck fast in a tree, but she barely noticed. Next to her, Remus was sitting up, eyes drawn as hers were to the fight being played out before them.

"They're trespassing, Bane. You cannot exonerate them on a mere technicality!"

"We banned humans, Alioth - she's not-" snarled Bane, but the other centaur cut across him.

"You are merely making excuses for a friend."

"Centaurs are not friends with witches," hissed Bane, jabbing his spear forward threateningly. Alioth, Katherine noted, had no weapon. She glanced behind her at the spear still quivering in the tree; maybe it hadn't been meant for them, after all. "But you must not harm her."

Alioth glared at him, fists clenching and unclenching, clearly seething but unable to do anything without a weapon. "And does this protective streak extend to the man?"

"Remus isn't human," said Katherine loudly, and Remus stared at her in bewilderment. "He's not," repeated Katherine, as all eyes turned on her. "He's a werewolf. You look up the charter at the Ministry - werewolves are not humans, they're magical beasts. _Dangerous_ magical beasts."

"Only at full moon," growled Alioth, eyeing Remus with distaste.

"All of the time, actually," retorted Remus mildly, gazing up at the centaur. He had no idea if this was going to work, but it had to be worth a try. "The new legislation is very explicit on that point."

"What do we care for wizard laws?"

"We're not talking about wizard laws, we're talking about your honour," snapped Katherine, blue eyes blazing. "You never warned werewolves against coming here – let Remus go."

Bane shot her a dark look, warning her against speaking further but Katherine only glared at him, folding her arms defiantly. Bane turned back to Alioth, saying something urgent in a low voice. Remus sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly and wondering why it was that whenever Katherine appeared he seemed to end up nearly dying.

"Don't worry. We'll be fine." He looked up to see Katherine smiling softly at him. "If they try anything I'll fight them off."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I'm just trying out that whole peaceful negotiation thing you always go on about."

Remus treated her a dubious look, not entirely sure that arguing with and antagonising your captor came under the heading of peaceful negotiation, but let it slide. This was Katherine after all, and this was about as peaceful as she ever got.

"You will never come here again." The deep voice brought Remus out of his thoughts and looking up he saw Bane standing over them, gazing down at Katherine with an odd expression on his face.

"Probably not, considering the welcome we got," muttered Katherine, pulling herself to her feet. Even standing she had to tilt her head back slightly to look into Bane's eyes.

"It was not a request," said the centaur in a flat voice. "Leave."

Katherine glanced down at Remus, one eyebrow raised questioningly. In answer he lifted a hand and she took it, pulling him up. If it had just been her, Remus thought she might have argued but as it was she just smiled wanly and looked back at Bane.

"Which way to the castle?"

Bane pointed. "That way. Keep Orion behind you."

"And don't look back?"

Remus caught the challenging note in his friends voice and tugged at her arm. "Come on."

Katherine resisted for a second, then let him pull her away. The circle of centaurs parted to let them through, and they didn't speak again until they were a long way from the accusing stares and spear points. It was only then that Remus dared to ask the question that had been niggling him for a while.

"What did he mean?"

Katherine looked up, Remus' hushed voice jolting her out of her reverie.

"Who?" Her blue eyes were dark in the soft starlight filtering in though the trees but she seemed genuine enough in her question; she really didn't know what he was referring to.

"Bane – when he was arguing with that other centaur, Alioth, or whatever his name was, he said you weren't..." Remus trailed off under her watchful stare. "What did he mean?"

"He didn't mean anything. Like Alioth said, he was just making excuses – he used to live in that forest behind our houses and we're on friendly-ish terms," she replied, but Remus was shaking his head. He stopped walking, finding her gaze in the semi-darkness.

"When a centaur says you're not human-"

"That wasn't what he said."

"As good as."

Katherine pursed her lips, looking very much as though she did not want to be having this conversation. "Centaurs can make things up, Remus-"

"He wasn't lying," Remus cut across her protest and studied her with shrewd brown eyes. "He was being serious. Do you know what he meant?" Before she could reply he held up a hand to stem any quick responses. "I'm not going to pretend I can tell when you're lying anymore, so I'm just going to ask you to be honest and trust that you'll tell me the truth. Do you have even the slightest idea as to what he was going on about?"

The shadows cast by the trees made it hard to see the expression on his friend's face, and when she spoke he thought it sounded a little forced.

"I'm as human as you are, Rem, and that means _you_, not Moony. Everyone knows centaurs talk rubbish."

Remus had half a mind to point out that everyone knew werewolves were liars, too, and that didn't make it true, but he stopped himself. She hadn't answered his question which meant that she very probably _did_ know what Bane had been talking about, and further more, that if he pushed the matter she would lie.

Even so, as they made their quiet way back through the Forest to the distant castle, he couldn't help wondering what it all meant. Casting a sideways glance at the serene, resolute woman beside him, he knew without a shadow of a doubt that she _was_ human. She was Katherine, the girl he'd grown up with and shared secrets with, Katherine, who'd fallen for one of his best mates and made him a better person for it, Katherine who was loyal and clever and stubborn as hell and who still, after all these years, had the capability to surprise him...

She was a human as they came and yet...Bane hadn't been lying. Was Katherine? Or was he just making something out of nothing as she seemed to think. But then...

_'That wasn't what he said...'_

How did she know that wasn't what Bane was going to say? Unless she knew he was talking about something else...?

If Katherine noticed his eyes on her, she didn't show it. She was treading softly through the trees with the unconscious skill of one who learnt long ago how to move in silence, her wand ready in her hand, all senses on high alert for any sign of an attack.

She glanced up, partly to check they were still on track, partly so she wouldn't have to look at Remus, but what she saw made her draw her breath in sharply.

"What?" Remus followed her gaze and saw, high above the canopy of trees, something red glowing in the sky. "Is that-? Katherine?"

But Katherine was already away, long legs striding over the uneven ground and Remus had to run full pelt to catch up with her, suddenly realising why she'd chosen to wear trousers rather than robes tonight – they were much easier to run in and had the added advantage that they didn't keep getting caught on brambles and stray tree branches.

As they ran the trees began to thin out and then they were suddenly in the open air, and he could see people dotted around the grounds in the eerie red light shed by the symbol in the sky. In front of him, Katherine had stopped, though she didn't seem to be at all out of breath; she was scanning the grounds and when her gaze turned on the yellow glow spilling out from the open front doors of the castle, she seemed to find what she was looking for.

Almost bent double with exhaustion, Remus squinted in the direction of the castle and saw a small group of people struggling with someone who was shouting something he was too far away to make out.

"Katherine, what-?" he began, but she wasn't listening. A few seconds later she was bounding up the grounds again, but instead of two legs, she now had four.

"Remus!"

Remus barely had time to tear his eyes away from the large black animal heading towards the group before something warm and very solid flung its arms around his neck.

"Hello Tonks," he said softly as she drew back, staring up at him with relief and anger competing for precedence in her dark eyes.

"What the hell did you think you were doing?" she demanded, poking him forcefully in the chest as his eyes found the group by the castle again. The black panther had reached them and, judging from the startled yells that carried back to him on the still night air, had overpowered them. It wasn't their fault really – nothing on the Auror training course could quite prepare you for being attacked by an 82lb panther in the middle of Scotland.

"What's going on?" he asked softly, as there was a flash of orange sparks and a triumphant laugh that didn't sound at all like his old friend.

"We caught my dear Auntie Bellatrix," answered Tonks, stepping back and looking around. She'd obviously heard the laugh too, and he saw her eyes widen at the sight of the scattered Aurors. "No..." She breathed the word in horror as two shapes broke away from the group of Aurors and started heading for the still open gates. "No, she can't-" She made to run after them but Remus darted in front of her, catching her wrist in his hand.

"Don't Tonks. She'll kill you if you get in her way," he said firmly, not entirely sure himself that he only meant Bellatrix.

"But we can't just let her get away," exclaimed Tonks, trying to pull out of his grip.

"I'm not letting you get yourself killed."

"Remus, I'm at risk every day. Why is this any diff-" She stopped, gaze snapping back to the retreating figures. "It's her, isn't it? The other one? It's Katherine?"

"Yes," said Remus softly, releasing Tonks at last and dragging a troubled hand through his hair.

"She's helping Bella escape? When Bella killed Sirius?" demanded Tonks, looking outraged. Remus shrugged helplessly, not understanding it himself. Katherine _hated_ Bella, loathed her, even. So why on earth had she aided her escape?

"Maybe she wants to kill her on her own terms," he said morosely. "I don't know. I try not understand how her head works." He looked up at the sky to avoid Tonks gaze and found himself staring at the red glow that still hung sinisterly in the sky. He heard Tonks sigh softly and a moment later, she leant against him, resting her head on his shoulder. He slipped an arm around her waist and looked down at her; she too, had been inspecting the sign in the sky.

"What is it?" she asked, face screwed up in dislike.

"I don't know," said Remus softly. "But it's not nice, is it?"

Tonks' dark eyes moved to study his face. "You feel it too?"

"It's like the Dark Mark," he said, glancing back up at it. "There's something just not right about it, some aura... She never did tell me what it meant."

Tonks moved in his arms and he felt her inquiring gaze searching his upturned face.

"You've seen it before?" she asked and he nodded, sighing tiredly.

"Years ago. It was scrawled in the corner of a few textbooks Katherine leant me and she had it drawn on her hand a couple of times – oh it's not like the Dark Mark," he said hastily, catching Tonks' expression. "She just drew it in pen."

"Like a symbol or something?" asked Tonks, and he shrugged.

"I suppose so, but it's not anything known. I took Ancient Runes at school and I've never seen anything like it. I think she invented it."

"Then it might not mean anything," pointed out Tonks, but Remus only smiled wryly.

"If Katherine does something, it rarely means nothing." He traced the symbol in the sky with his finger. "I've always thought it looked a bit like a pair of eyes with a cross through them."

Tonks looked dubiously at the sign. "Looks like a half peeled banana to me." Remus stared at her for a second, then started to laugh. "What? It looks more like a banana than a pair of eyes," said Tonks, sounding a little put out.

"You're looking at it upside down," said Remus, still grinning and gesturing at the sign. "From where Bellatrix cast it, it's the right way up."

A burst of light shot up from the ground near the castle doors, and the red glow vanished, leaving the night sky clear once more.

"I'd better go report in," said Tonks softly, giving him a quick hug.

"I'll see you later, then."

"You bet you will – and then you're going to tell me everything that happened after you suddenly went mental and decided to voluntarily run into the Forest," grinned Tonks, kissing him on the cheek and heading off to join the rest of the Aurors. Remus sighed; he'd been half hoping she'd forgotten about that.

The open gates of the school drew his attention once more and he thought of Katherine, fleeing the grounds with Bellatrix in tow. Why had she done it? Just another question to add to the ever lengthening list he was compiling. One day he was going to shut her in a room, force feed her verita serum and get some answers. He sighed again, running a scarred hand through his greying hair once more. One day.

x – X – x

"I suppose I should say thanks."

"I wouldn't bother. Did you find Trelawney?"

"No – a portrait spotted me halfway up the stairs; some stubby knight with a fat pony. Made so much noise the Aurors came looking." There was a pause, then Bella looked carefully at her old acquaintance. "They were waiting for us."

"They were ready for us," corrected Katherine, frowning a little. "There's a difference."

"Why would they be waiting unless someone told them we were coming?"

"Maybe Dumbledore said it was the Dark Lord's birthday."

"Dumbledore's dead, Katherine."

"He was a headmaster of Hogwarts," said Katherine, with deliberate slowness. "He's got a portrait." She leant against the wall of alley they'd apparated into and rubbed a tired hand over her face. "Still, it could be worse."

"How, exactly?" asked Bellatrix, arching her eyebrows in disdain. "We don't have the Prophecy, security at the castle will, in all likelihood, increase tenfold now we've made an attack and Alexandra McKenzie is dead, so do please enlighten me as to how it could be worse."

"You could be dead," pointed out Katherine, a dark look in eyes that were hard to make out in the shadows. "Or caught. Or we could have captured Tralawney, hauled her off to our lord and master and discovered that she couldn't tell us anything anyway." The bitter anger in her voice was unmistakable now. "It was a stupid idea."

"And how else are we supposed to find the Prophecy?" hissed Bella, glaring at her.

"There are plenty of ways of finding it," said Katherine levelly. "Of course we wouldn't be having this problem if the Dark Lord had just gone into the DoM and taken it himself in the first place. But no, that would have been sensible-"

"You dare to insult him-"

"I've been insulting him for years, Trix, and put that away," she added, gesturing to the wand Bella was pointing at her heart. "I just saved your skin."

"Only because you had to," scowled Bella, but she lowered her wand with a slight reluctance.

"And don't you forget it," snarled back Katherine. "Maybe next time I won't be so honourable."

"You've got no choice," said Bella, a smirk that bordered on smug planted on her face.

"No?" The innocuous note of the question and the very slight raise of the eyebrows made Bella hesitate, but only for a second.

"You're honour bound, Riddle. We all are."

"Ah yes," said Katherine softly, and Bella was suddenly anxious for light. She couldn't see much of her companion's face in the darkness of the alley and it was making her nervous. "'Till death do our bonds sever. Tell me, Trix. Did any of us die recently?"

"That was a trick, Riddle. You were only pretending," said Bella, though a trace of uncertainty lingered in her voice.

"Damn good trick," murmured Katherine, her gleaming eyes the only part of her that Bella could make out clearly. "Fooled a lot of people, didn't it? Most of the world, in fact. You know, some people might take that as a sign that it actually happened, but that would just be ridiculous, right? I mean, it's practically impossible." She grinned, white teeth just visible in the gloom. "Practically."

The two woman watched each other in silence for a long moment, Bellatrix disturbed but trying not to show it, Katherine gazing serenely at her, blue eyes seeming almost black in the murky alley.

Then the younger woman grinned again, looking up at stars shining in the cloudless sky.

"Hey look, you can actually see Canis Major for once. Wonder if he can see us."

Bellatrix narrowed her eyes but said nothing, and Katherine glanced back at her again with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"Happy new year, Trix." She pulled out her wand and twirled it deftly between her fingers, eyes glinting darkly.

"Oh yes, it's been fantastic start to the year, hasn't it?" said Bella sarcastically, scowling at her, but Katherine only grinned.

"Well you know what they say, Trix - start as you mean to go on."

**x – X – x**

_Reviews are adored._


	52. Calvaria House

**A/N:** Right, I think it's time for Harry again, since this is a HP fanfic and he's been noticeably absent for a good six chapters or so...

**x – X – x**

**Chapter 51 – Calvaria House**

Harry walked quietly along the wooden paneled corridor, careful to keep the cloak in place. Ron and Hermione were keeping watch outside - Hermione just outside the main gates and Ron hidden in the shadows by the door, concealed with a Disillusionment charm.

They'd found this place a few weeks ago and if their source was right, it was a notorious Death Eater hide out. The snake head on the knocker certainly added to the veracity of the information, as did the name: Calvaria House. According to Hermione, Calvaria meant skull, and since Hermione was rarely wrong, he was inclined to believe her. In truth, he didn't really believe Voldemort kept Nagini here, but it was now the beginning of February and a place to start looking was the most important thing right now.

He turned a corner and saw light spilling out from a doorway; there was someone here. Cautiously, very conscious of the fact that the cloak didn't quite reach to the floor, he crept forwards and peered into the room.

It was painted a pale sky blue, contrasting violently with the dark mahogany of the corridors and the light came from a mass of twisting silvery threads that hung in the air over a desk. They seemed familiar somehow, but he couldn't quite place why. He was not allowed to dwell on this thought for long, however, because there was a movement behind the desk and he found a pair of eyes, that he had absolutely no problem remembering, watching him.

"Whoever you are, if you don't show yourself within the next three seconds you'll be spending the next year in Saint Mungos," said the figure, fingers curling around her wand. Harry abruptly pulled off the cloak and Katherine's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question," retorted Harry, stepping into the room and frowning at her. Katherine looked at him for a moment, leaning back in her chair, and a vaguely amused expression crossed her face.

"Yes," she said slowly, slightly narrowed eyes glinting sardonically. "A Death Eater hanging around in a Death Eater hide out. I can see where you're having problems with that one."

Harry glared at her, but she only grinned.

"I was thinking, if you must know," she sighed, and when Harry gave her a confused look she gestured to the twining threads of silver before her.

"They're memories?" asked Harry, realising. "But they're not in a pensieve."

"They are, actually," said Katherine nonchalantly. She smiled faintly and waved a hand around at the room. "This whole room is a pensieve. Little experiment of mine – working in the DoM gets you thinking about things like that. Works surprisingly well."

"The DoM?" asked Harry blankly, looking dubiously at the walls. Could you really turn a room into a pensieve? What about the symbols she'd said you needed… "That how you knew how to make a pensieve?" he said suddenly, looking directly at her. "Back at that house? You said you knew the spells and stuff? Because you'd already made this?"

"Very good," grinned Katherine, giving him an approving look. "You're getting better at this. And the DoM is the Department of Mysteries." Her smile turned a little wistful and she gazed at the churning mass of silver. "The great mysteries of life."

"What?" Katherine looked up, arching an eyebrow.

"You never wondered where it got its name?" She rolled her eyes, and Harry was suddenly realised that this was a new side to her he was seeing. Not talking-to-Remus Katherine or hunting-horcruxes Katherine – this was Katherine in her own environment, talking about her old job, in complete safety. This was probably as close to the real Katherine as he was ever going to get and right now she was watching him with a shrewd expression on her face. "What are you staring at?"

"Nothing," he said quickly. "What were you saying about the name?"

She looked at him for a few more seconds in meditative silence and he knew she was trying to work out what he'd been thinking, but then she shrugged, shoulders relaxing once more.

"Department of Mysteries – there's the basic ones like life, death, time and space. Then there's prophecy, but of course you knew about that one all ready, love and hate. Entire wings dedicated to the human brain and thought processes." She leant further back in her chair, now considering the ceiling with an apparent air of thoughtfulness. "The supernatural and the mundane – now _that's_ an interesting department – load of whackjobs those guys, I swear, and there's someone coming up the stairs so I'd best put that cloak back on if I were you." Her gaze flicked back to him as he stared at her and she raised one eyebrow questioningly. "Well? I wasn't joking."

Harry hurriedly pulled the cloak over him as footsteps sounded in the corridor outside, and retreated to the corner of the room. A moment later a man with thick curly hair and a fair amount of stubble strode into the room, wand outstretched.

Harry saw Katherine glance up, looking for all the world as if she'd only just noticed the man's arrival.

"Mulciber? Can I help you?"

"Riddle?" The man lowered his wand, though his face still held a suspicious look. "I didn't know you were here."

Katherine's innocuous smile put Harry on edge and it wasn't even directed at him.

"Why on earth would you suppose you'd know I was here, Jack?"

Mulciber wisely decided not to try and answer this question and went on the defensive instead.

"Thought there was an intruder, that's all. Can't have just anyone lurking around, can we?"

"No," said Katherine calmly, turning her attention away from her companion and back to the memories still drifting in front of her. "Well if I see any intruders, Jack, I shall be sure to inform you, though I very much doubt there can be any, given the protection that's been set up. Even Snape can't break a Fidelus charm and he can do just about anything, so what chance do outsiders have?"

"Snape already knows about this place," said Jack, frowning a little. Katherine sighed very quietly and let her gaze find his.

"I was merely illustrating a point. No outsiders can get in, Jack. They do not have the means or expertise."

"That why you're here?" asked Jack, leaning against the door jamb and eyeing the silvery memories with unguarded interest.

"The idea was to get a bit of peace and quiet, yes," said Katherine in a level voice, though Harry could hear the meaning behind it. Either Jack Mulciber could not, or he chose to ignore it.

"Heard what you and Snape did."

Katherine's gaze sharpened considerably at this new topic and Harry wondered if it was because she knew he was there.

"Alex?" she asked quietly, and Jack nodded. "How is James?"

"Better now he's got some closure, I reckon. Carr's on the warpath, though – hell bent on giving you two an earful. Thinks you should've waited for instructions or something."

"Not broken into the Ministry and nicked a body out of their morgue, then?" supplied Katherine, a faint smile playing across her lips. "Too risky, perhaps."

"Just a bit."

"We didn't get caught."

"You could have done."

"And then what? Azkaban? I broke out before, Jack, I could do it again," said Katherine easily, shrugging.

"The Aurors have instructions to kill you two on sight," said Jack, a touch of something like admiration in his voice. "After the Dark Lord, you're public enemies two and three."

"Oh I don't know – Bella would be most put out if she wasn't ranked higher than me."

"She hasn't led the Aurors on quite as merry a dance as you have," said Jack, with a slight grin. "I reckon they'd much prefer to bring you down. 'Specially that grey haired loon."

"If you're referring to Alastor, he isn't quite as mental as everyone makes out. After all, it's not paranoia if everyone really is out to get you." She smiled, and poked the writhing memories with her wand. Abruptly the silver cleared, forming what looked like a roughly circular window in the air.

Harry stared into it and saw a room and a man that he'd seen so many times before: it was Dumbledore's office and sitting behind a desk was Dumbledore himself, though with less grey hair than he'd had when Harry had known him. He was saying something, but there was no sound – either Katherine had silenced it, or you could only hear when you were inside the actual memory.

As Harry watched, Dumbledore stopped speaking and a girl stood up, a girl with long black hair and a fringe that fell into bright blue eyes: it was Katherine, though she looked younger than Harry had ever seen her. She must have been sitting in one of the chairs before his desk, which Harry had failed to notice, being far too intent on his old headmaster to pay attention, and from the looks of things she was far from happy. Even without the sound, he could tell what she'd just said.

By the door, Jack Mulciber laughed, bringing Harry sharply back to the present.

"That's a rather colourful vocabulary you have, Riddle," he said, grinning at Katherine. "How old were you?"

"Sixteen," answered Katherine, a wry smile on her face. The teenage Katherine in the memory had just stormed out of the office and Harry as watched the scene flickered black for a moment before fading to silver. Mulciber, however, hadn't noticed; he was still smirking at Katherine, saying something malicious about Dumbledore.

Harry stared at Katherine as she exchanged a few final words with Mulciber and he left. Only when he heard the front door close downstairs did Harry remove the cloak; Katherine was staring idly at the silver surface before her and didn't make any move to restart their conversation.

"You modified that," said Harry, after he'd stood in silence for a good two minutes. Blue eyes fixed on his face and Katherine smiled lazily, though there was an air of melancholy about it.

"What makes you think that?"

"I've seen one before," said Harry, thinking back to Slughorn's incomplete account of his conversation with a young Tom Riddle. "That flicker of black at the end – you hid something."

Katherine sighed again, rubbing her jaw thoughtfully and gazing back at the silver threads. "That would be the part where Remus runs after me."

"Remus?" asked Harry, confused. He hadn't seen Remus in the office, but then…there had been two chairs in front of the desk. Had there been someone in the other one?

"Jack's not the sharpest knife in the rack," said Katherine softly, prodding the memories again. "He doesn't see things he doesn't expect to be there." The memories shifted again and Harry saw the office once more, with Dumbledore behind the desk, only this time he could hear what he was saying.

_"…has he asked you to join anything?"_

The sixteen year old Katherine slumped in a chair in front of him was frowning, blue eyes narrowed dubiously and looking very much as though she didn't want to be there. Then Harry heard Remus' voice, sounding younger than it did now, but recognisable nevertheless.

_"Tell him, Kat."_

But Katherine didn't appear to share her friend's opinion; she was watching her headmaster with a look of growing suspicion and dislike and Harry heard her say quietly:

_"You already knew."_

In the chair beside her, Remus leant forward, and Harry saw his sandy blond hair fall into his eyes as he frowned at her, but Katherine had eyes only for Dumbledore.

_"You knew and you didn't tell me?"_

_"I confess I had my suspicions, but I couldn't be sure-"_

_"Like hell, you couldn't."_

The teenage Katherine had got to her feet and this time there was absolutely no mistaking what she called Dumbledore and Harry heard Remus' sharp intake of breath as his friend almost fled the office, wrenching the door open so hard, Harry was surprised it wasn't pulled off the hinges.

This time there was no flash of blackness and Harry was allowed to see what happened next, to hear Remus' hasty apology to Dumbledore and see him run from the room and down the spiral stairs, to catch up with his friend in the corridor below.

_"What did you do that for? Come back, he can still help-"_

_"You heard him, Remus."_

Even from where Harry was standing, he could see the fury and hurt on the young Katherine's face.

_"He knew about Tom – he's probably known for ages."_

_"So?"_

_"So? So why didn't he tell me?"_

_"Would you have wanted to know?"_

_"I'd have preferred it to come from him – least then I might have been prepared when Tom finally did show up."_

_"What difference would it have made?"_

_"What difference? Maybe the difference between me being a stupid naïve little girl and a stupid but informed, little girl. Maybe the difference between having a normal life and having this bloody thing tattooed on my arm."_

She was pulling up her sleeve now, and Harry saw the black skull and snake emblazoned there, saw Remus' uncomfortable wince and Katherine's sulky glare.

_"Come back upstairs, Kat, we can still sort this out-"_

_"No we can't. It's too late, Rem."_

_"It's not – he can help. He got me into Hogwarts, he can-"_

_"He can't work miracles, Remus. He's not that good."_

Harry saw a look of disgust cross her face and she tossed long black hair over her shoulder, looking Remus straight in the eye.

_"I wouldn't go back in there if you gave me all the gold in Gringotts and believe me, that's a lot of gold if Dad's vault is anything to go by."_

_"You don't need his money-"_

_"No, I don't. And I don't want it either, but you know what I want even less? To be lectured by that old fool up there."_

_"He's not a fool-"_

_"I don't care, Remus! You're welcome to think of him as the greatest man that ever lived, but I'm not going anywhere near him!"_

_"You'd rather be around your loving father then?"_

_"At least he doesn't lie to me."_

_"No, he just makes you join his stupid cult and-"_

_"He didn't make me, I chose to."_

_"You don't know what you're doing at the moment, Kat. You're not being rational."_

_"You'd rather I was like your idol? He's rational, isn't he? Messing about with people's lives like this is some giant chess game and if you can only control their moves, you can win-"_

Katherine stopped abruptly, and a moment later Harry realised why. Dumbledore was standing behind Remus at the foot of the stairs. The three of them stood motionless for a moment, the hatred on Katherine's face very nearly palpable, and then she was gone, striding away down the corridor and this time Remus wasn't running after her.

Harry stared silently as the memory faded back to silver again and then looked at Katherine. She wasn't watching him, just gazing absently at the wand she still held in her hands.

"So that's why you don't like Dumbledore," said Harry eventually, when his voice had finally returned to him. "Because he didn't tell you Voldemort was your father?"

"Pretty much." Katherine glanced up at him, a vaguely sardonic look on her face. "Seems a little childish when it's put like that, but yeah. I blamed him for everything that went wrong."

"Blamed?" questioned Harry, noting the use of the past tense.

"Well, blame, I suppose," shrugged Katherine tiredly. "Still think he should have told me, but, well, maybe I've just stopped caring. No point dwelling on the past, is there? This is my life, and I'm stuck with it. Maybe things would have been different, maybe I'd have been killed as soon as Tom found me if I'd been told who he really was, who knows? My life's not so bad – I'm still here, and so are a lot of people I care about. Things could be a lot worse."

Harry couldn't think of anything to say to that, so he settled for another question instead.

"Why did you show it to Mulciber?"

Katherine smiled slightly, gazing at the ceiling again. "Because he's friendly with Bella – and when I say friendly, I mean that he'll happily pass on any information that comes across his path if it gets him in her good books – and if he thought I was hiding something, you can be sure as hell Trix'd be down here in a flash, demanding to know what I was up to." She flashed him a grin. "I thought we could rather do without that complication."

"And then you showed me because…?"

"You'd have asked," she shrugged.

"There's more than one memory there," said Harry, a thoughtful look on his face. Katherine narrowed her eyes slightly, watching him.

"There is."

"Why'd you show that one?"

"It was the least incriminating," said Katherine, though she was still studying him carefully. "Everyone knows I didn't like Dumbledore and all Jack saw was me yelling at him; it wouldn't occur to someone like Jack to ask what it was about – he probably thinks I did it on a regular basis."

"Did you?"

Katherine gave him a stern look. "It wouldn't occur to him to ask that, either." There was a pause in which Harry continued to gaze questioningly at her, then she rolled her eyes. "Only when he started on about Tom again, and I didn't really yell, I was just…" She hesitated, searching for the right word. "Impolite. What are you doing here, anyway? I meant what I said about the Fidelus charm – you've got an inside man, haven't you?"

"Even if we had, I wouldn't tell you," said Harry firmly, but Katherine smirked knowingly.

"No need, I can guess, but let's not mention names – it only complicates things."

"Yes, like Snape."

Katherine looked mildly confused, though Harry was pretty sure it wasn't sincere. "Severus complicates things? Well that's true, I suppose, but only if you spend a lot of time around him."

"That wasn't what I meant," said Harry firmly and Katherine smiled sourly. "Mulciber mentioned him – what was he talking about? You and Snape stole a body?"

Katherine was quiet for a moment, considering, then she sighed heavily and shrugged. "Oh, what the hell – it'll be in the papers anyway, unless the Ministry hush it up. They were holding the body of Alexandra McKenzie. They've had it at least a month now, and James was in a right state – she was his twin sister, see, and she deserved a proper burial, so we decided to do something about it."

"So you broke into the Ministry and stole it back? You and Snape?"

"Me and Severus, yes. Couldn't very well ask Avery or someone, could I? He works at the Ministry – don't want him losing his job, and I'm supposed to be feuding with him at any rate."

"Feuding?" Katherine waved a hand carelessly.

"Long story – trust me, you don't want to know. Oh hell, he's not back again is he?" Harry frowned at this remark, but then realised he too could hear footsteps echoing up from somewhere in the house.

"Bellatrix?" he asked quietly, but Katherine shook her head.

"No, believe me, if it was Bella, you wouldn't hear her coming. Sounds like a couple of people, actually…"

And then Harry realised. "Ron and Hermione – I've been gone ages, they're probably wondering where I got to."

"So they decided to come looking?" asked Katherine, giving him a vaguely amused look. "Oh that is so very…Gryffindor. If they were Slytherins, they'd have done the sensible thing and run off while they had the chance."

"You didn't leave Alexandra McKenzie," said Harry quietly, and Katherine gave him a long look.

"That's different."

"How?"

"It just is."

Harry heard the stairs creak as someone climbed them, and heard the telltale muffled whispers that indicated people trying not to be heard.

"Tacipede is a good charm for silencing footsteps," said Katherine after a pause, still watching him with a shrewd expression on her face, sapphire eyes boring into his. "You and your friends better head home – Jack'll be back in a minute."

"What?"

"He's the…caretaker, shall we say, of this house. If someone without a Mark crosses the threshold he knows about it."

"But if I set it off, why'd he think you were the only one here?"

Katherine smiled darkly. "Because you don't question me if you want to continue life with all your limbs in tact. Besides, I'm notorious for using unconventional methods of entry and he probably thought I'd done something that interfered with the wards. Now go on, off with you - it's not here, trust me."

Harry looked sharply at her, but she'd turned back her memories and he knew he shouldn't really be surprised that she'd guessed the reason for his presence. He was about to leave when she spoke again, in an almost offhand sort of voice:

"You might want to look up the works of JH Raine." Harry glanced back to meet the familiar sapphire gaze. "Just an idea," said Katherine softly, smiling faintly. "And Raine's got an 'e' on the end."

"Thanks," he said quietly, giving her a careful look.

"Don't mention it. Oh and tell your _friend_ to make sure he knows what he's doing. Treachery isn't exactly the wisest career path."

"Snape chose it," said Harry, scowling at little. Katherine smiled faintly, an amused gleam in her eyes.

"Yes, he did, but he can stick with his decisions." Harry frowned at her, but she only grinned and waved a hand at him. "Go on – I'll deal with Jack."

Harry lingered in the doorway for a moment longer, then left to find his friends. If Mulciber really was coming back they didn't have much time, and Nagini wasn't here – he trusted Katherine on that, at least, he just wasn't sure if he should believe anything else she said.

**x – X – x**

_Feedback is the food of updates..._


	53. Thanks for the memories

**A/N:** This chapter owes it's inspiration to the Deathly Hallows. I know I said I wasn't altering anything in the story, and rest assured all major plot lines are still unchanged, but this is really just filler and probably would have happened anyway, though at a different time. If you haven't read book seven yet, it doesn't actually give anything anyway, and the event in question occurs in chapter one, but I thought I'd put in a warning just in case.

There aren't any other foreseeable Deathly Hallows adjustments, though I think the people who killed characters I liked may meet rather messy ends in the final battle…

One final notice – I'm in the process of editing Fire Burns, sorting out any inconsistencies etc. If anyone noticed any blatant mistakes or something, can you let me know? I think I've got most of them, but you never know.

Now, enjoy!

**x – X – x**

**Chapter 52 – Thanks for the memories**

_"So, how long have you guys been…?" The smaller boy's voice trails off, dark brown eyes flickering nervously between them, ice pack held firmly in place on his left arm._

_"Couple of months," shrugs the blond boy, cool brown eyes showing no emotion. Regulus nods and looks at her next, a kind of desperation his in expression, like if only he can keep talking, keep things normal, he can pretend his world hadn't just veered drastically off course. She considers his question, frowning a little because she's genuinely not quite sure._

_"Since January or thereabouts," she says at last, smiling with a vaguely apologetic air. "It's a bit of a blur."_

_Regulus nods again, swallowing hard. "Does it stop-?"_

_"Hurting? After a bit, yeah," she assures, reaching for his arm and pulling the ice off it. "Let me see."_

_Regulus lets her examine his arm, trying not to look at the black tattoo that's emblazoned across it, but when she trails a finger across it, he suddenly pulls away, clutching at his stomach._

_"I think I'm going to-"_

_The blond boy pulls a face as their younger companion makes a dash for the bathroom._

_"Bit of a lightweight, isn't he?" he remarks, as the sound of retching reaches their ears. His expression is hard to make out in the dying flames of the fire, but the tone of his voice betrays his amusement. The common room's empty apart from them – everyone else went to bed hours ago, but they stayed awake to wait for the newest recruit's return._

_"Give him a break - you didn't take it all that well if I remember correctly," she says calmly, giving him a slightly reproving look. "Right little wimp, weren't you?"_

_"I was not," he scowls, and she grins._

_"Yeah you were. Robert Avery, smart aleck pureblood snob reduced to swooning by a bit of pain." She smiles slyly, meeting his gaze in the dim glow of the fire. "Remember what you said when I found you? 'You're not what I expected'?"_

_"Well you weren't," says Robert, shrugging carelessly. "How was I to know the quiet little muggleborn was a vicious miscreant? Talk about misleading first impressions." He sighs, giving her a rueful smile. "Quite the angelic demon, aren't you?"_

_She smiles, hearing the door of the boy's bathroom open again. "Quite."_

_Regulus rejoins them, black hair only serving to highlight the paleness of his face._

_"All right?" she asks, watching him grip the back of the nearest chair and gaze fixedly into the fire._

_"Fine."_

_"Really?" It's Robert who asks this time, and she smiles faintly, because at least he's cutting the kid some slack now._

_Regulus frowns a little, tilting his head to one side, though his gaze doesn't leave the fire._

_"No, not really. Don't feel sick anymore, though." He looks at them, attempting a grin, though his heart doesn't really seem to be in it. "Still, no doubt Mother and Father will be pleased."_

_She exchanges a look with Robert, suppressing a grin. Ever since Malfoy mentioned Regulus Black was going to join, they've been arguing over his motive. Robert had bet her a galleon that Black was joining for the sake of the Cause, whereas she'd been adamant it was purely out of duty to his family's name. _

_"Bet they'll be over the moon," Robert murmurs, a glimmer of sour amusement in his eyes because he knows she's not going to let him forget he lost the bet and is determined to try and bring her good mood down. "Don't reckon your parents were too thrilled, though, Kat."_

_She matches the sardonic gleam in his eyes and smiles with a deceptive sweetness that she knows he'll be able to see through. "Oh I don't know. Depends which set you're referring to."_

_Regulus frowns a little, not following their conservation. "Katherine?"_

_Now it's her turn to frown. That's not Regulus' voice._

_"Katherine? Oi, wake up sleepy head."_

_Wake up? But she's already awake. Or maybe she dozed off in the common room – it is rather late after all. She blinks, rubbing her eyes as the room starts to blur at the edges-_

"Kit, it's for you."

Katherine stared uncomprehendingly into dark green eyes for a second, then her mind readjusted itself. She wasn't at Hogwarts, she was in London, at home, and, from the dull ache in her back, had probably spent the night on the sofa.

She suppressed a sigh, pushing away the feeling of disappointment that threatened to fill her. She missed Hogwarts, missed Regulus – proof, if she'd needed any, that first impression were indeed deceiving. Who could have guessed that that scared fourteen year old boy would one day break through Lord Voldemort's enchantments and steal one of his most prized possessions?

Still, no use dwelling on the past – she and Robert had finished what he could not, and Potter would doubtless do the rest. He'd certainly lived up to his reputation thus far-

She suddenly realised that Ophelia's amused look was rapidly changing to worry, so she sat up, taking the white envelope from her hand and smiling apologetically.

"Sorry," she mumbled, running a hand through messy hair. "Not quite awake, yet. What am I doing on the sofa?"

"Don't know – we came home at about four this morning. I suppose you couldn't find the bed." Ophelia grinned, the expression making her look positively impish. "Remember much?"

Katherine thought about it, the memories coming back with some difficulty. Yesterday had been Valentine's Day and Nicola had come round, and then…

"There was alcohol."

"There was indeed," smiled Ophelia, with a mildly mournful expression, and Katherine remembered her resolution to stick to soft drinks all night. "Still, being sober has its advantages. Don't know where Nicola disappeared to."

"She'll be all right," said Katherine, smiling, a wicked glint in her eye. "She has a habit of leaving a string of broken hearts behind her."

"Never found anyone worth sticking around for?" asked Ophelia, sitting herself down in an armchair and grinning too. Katherine shrugged, slitting open the envelope and pulling out the card.

"Don't think she ever stuck around long enough to find out." She chuckled as she flipped the card open and scanned the contents.

"What is it?" asked Ophelia curiously.

"Late Valentine," said Katherine happily, tossing it over to her.

"_'Dear R, as if I could.'_" she read, then looked up at Katherine, utterly bewildered. "As he could what? Love you?"

Katherine laughed at that, shaking her head and reclining on the sofa once more. "No, nothing like that." She grinned as Ophelia eyed the card dubiously before setting it down on the table. "I sent him forget-me-nots," added Katherine, by way of explanation, gazing at the ceiling, an amused smile still playing round her lips.

"Who?"

"Alastor."

Ophelia frowned, dark eyes searching Katherine's face. "Who's Alastor?"

"Hmm? Oh, he doesn't really use that name, does he? What's his nickname? Oh yes, Mad Eye. Mad Eye Moody."

There was a long pause, then Ophelia said slowly:

"You sent Mad Eye Moody flowers?"

"Well I don't think he's got any love interests," said Katherine, keeping her voice deliberately casual. "I thought he might be feeling a little left out."

"So you sent him flowers?" Ophelia's voice heightened in incredulity. Katherine raised her head, looking serenely at the younger woman.

"What's wrong with that?"

"Aside from the fact that he's an Auror? The Auror in charge of the search for you, no less."

Katherine waved a hand carelessly. "Alastor's all right."

Ophelia stared at her, clearly thinking she'd finally lost what few marbles she had left, but Katherine only smiled, shutting her eyes once more. She heard Ophelia sigh and get up, and a minute later there was the sound of water being poured into the kettle.

"Speaking of Aurors," called Ophelia's voice from the kitchen. "I saw Mary in Diagon Alley this morning-"

Katherine opened her eyes, glancing at the clock on the wall; it was two in the afternoon. That might explain the brightness of the sunlight streaming in through the windows – she'd put it down to the after effects of excessive alcohol consumption.

"-and she said one of them got married yesterday."

Katherine peered over the top of the sofa, a bemused expression on her face. "Well that's nice, isn't it?" Something about the younger woman's voice wasn't quite right – like there was something odd about the news. Ophelia glanced around, eyebrows raised slightly.

"To a werewolf."

"What?" Katherine sat up properly this time, looking slightly alarmed.

"I know," said Ophelia, taking a couple of mugs out of the cupboard. "Complete spur of the moment thing, apparently. Weird, isn't it?" She looked back at Katherine, her grin freezing at the sight of the empty room. "Kat?"

x – X – x

Tonks almost dropped the box of papers she was carrying at the abrupt appearance of the wanted criminal in the corridor of Auror HQ.

"Wha-?" she began, but Katherine wasn't in the mood for questions.

"I want a word with you."

_"Now?"_

"No time like the present." Tonks thought about arguing, but Katherine grabbed her arm and pulled her into the nearest office, taking the decision firmly out of her hands. "You married Remus."

"You heard," murmured Tonks, setting the box down on a table and looking up at Katherine.

"Oh yeah," agreed Katherine, a slightly manic gleam in her eyes. "Everyone's heard, Tonks."

"And you've got a problem with it?" challenged Tonks, lifting her head a little higher and meeting her gaze.

"Me? 'Course not – you love him, he loves you, you make a lovely couple, no, I haven't got a problem with you _getting married_ as such, but this is _Remus Lupin _we're dealing with here. He doesn't do spur of the moment things like that."

"What's your point?"

"My point? Only that he's probably sitting at home right now regretting doing something so rash," said Katherine, and there was a slight weariness to her voice now. "Go home, Tonks. Before he runs."

"He wouldn't leav-"

"He would." The conviction in her voice was only strengthened by the serious look in her blue eyes. "Trust me, I know Remus. He'll convince himself he's made a mistake – oh not you, just tying you down, he loves_ you_." She smiled, and there was something like sympathy or understanding in her eyes. "He really does. Never seen him so smitten."

Tonks paused, considering Katherine for a long moment, but there was nothing in her expression that caused her to suppose she was up to anything. Eventually she swallowed and asked:

"Smitten?"

"Completely."

"But I can't leave work-"

"I'll distract them," said Katherine calmly.

"But you'll get caught," said Tonks seriously. "I can't-"

But Katherine was already holding up a hand to stem any excuses. "I went to school with the Marauders – hell, I was engaged to one; I think I picked up a thing or two about making a rapid exit from crime scenes."

"This isn't Hogwarts," pointed out Tonks, but Katherine only grinned.

"You ever tried escaping McGonagall? I'd take the entire Auror department over her." She smiled ruefully and pushed herself away from the door she'd been leaning against. She reached for the handle, then paused, looking back. "Oh, and I almost forgot - congratulations."

She treated Tonks to a brilliant smile before ducking out of the room and heading in the direction of the center of Auror operations. Tonks stood alone in room for a few seconds, then, as yells started up and the sound of running feet reached her ears, she pulled out her wand and Disapparated.

x – X – x

Remus slid a glass across the table, not bothering to look up.

"I was wondering when you were going to show your face."

"Still here, then?" Katherine picked up the glass, sniffing the golden liquid within cautiously.

"Yes," said Remus, and she heard the irritation in his voice but chose to ignore it.

"Good. Congratulations, Rem. You're officially normal."

Remus looked up at her this time, scowling. "You told Tonks I'd run away."

Katherine considered him, glass halfway to her lips. "So you didn't have your bag half packed when she came home?"

"No."

"But you were regretting it." She frowned, tapping one finger distractedly on the side of her glass. "You still are." The frown deepened and she put the glass back on the table, sighing softly. "I take it back – you're not normal."

"'Course I'm not – I'm a werewolf-"

"And she doesn't care. Honestly, Rem, I thought you'd have been happy about that."

"I am, but I can't ask her to throw her life away for-"

"Love? Why not? There are worse things to throw your life away for."

"You never wanted Sirius to do it," shot back Remus, and his expression dark. Katherine's eyes narrowed and Remus smiled sourly. "Hit a nerve?"

"I didn't love Sirius like you love Tonks," said Katherine quietly, not quite meeting his gaze.

"No, you love Snape. Always have done, always will and yet you stayed with Sirius all that time-"

"This isn't about me and Sirius, Remus."

"Isn't it? Or do you just not want it to be?" Katherine sighed, running a hand through her hair and looking down at him with a slightly pained expression on her face.

"You're drunk, Remus."

"No, I'm angry," snapped Remus, glaring at her. "You're supposed to be my friend and-"

"Sirius would be doing exactly the same," cut in Katherine, resting her hands on the table and meeting his gaze with fierce blue eyes.

"You're not Sirius," snarled Remus, rising from his seat and glowering at her. There was a pause while their gazes locked, faces only inches apart, and then Katherine said very quietly: "Oh."

She ran a hand over her face and moved back, leaning against the kitchen counter. "This isn't about Tonks, is it? This is about Bella. I let her go and you're mad-"

"She killed Sirius."

"Yes, she did. Finished him off, at least. I think he was probably dead long before she killed him," she replied, sighing deeply. "Dumbledore should have known better than to keep him cooped up in that house-" She broke off, shaking her head. "But this isn't about Dumbledore – you want to know why I let her go?"

"Helped her escape, Katherine. You could have just let the Aurors take her-"

"No, I couldn't," interrupted Katherine, closing her eyes. "She used the sign – I had to help. Duty bound, Remus. You know about duty, don't you? Very Gryffindor concept, that."

"And you're a Slytherin. Ever heard of treachery?" She opened her eyes again, meeting his accusing glare.

"Of course I have, but the sign was designed by Slytherins, Remus. We don't tend to rely on purity of character – there's a curse attached. Fail to help when asked and something very nasty happens to you."

"What?" asked Remus, curious despite his anger.

"Don't know – it's different for different people. Plays on your worst fears, see? My idea, that." She smiled sourly and met Remus' gaze once more. "So you'll forgive me if I wanted you and Faye in tact. Or maybe you won't, but I won't apologise."

Remus studied her for a moment, face still hard. "Why did you make a pact with Bellatrix Lestrange?"

"Desperate times call for desperate measures," shrugged Katherine, a sour expression on her face. "It's not much fun being hunted by Aurors, you know. Makes you feel better if someone's got your back. No one else was going to look out for us, so we decided to look out for ourselves. Take care of your own and all that."

"But Bellatrix Lestrange?" persisted Remus, sinking back down into his chair. "Why her, Kat?"

"Not just her," said Katherine, shaking her head. "There's a few of us." A small, bitter, smile tugged at her lips. "The old crowd. Me, Lucius, Bella, Rabastan, Leon-"

"Wilkes?"

"Yes."

"Didn't you kill him?" frowned Remus, brown eyes suspicious.

"The protection only works against outsiders," said Katherine, the smile turning a little savage. "You can't use it to stop another member hurting you, or to ask for help against said member. 'Course, other members can help so long as you don't ask them, but like I said, Slytherins don't tend to do that."

"So you could have killed Bella after you rescued her?" asked Remus, raising an eyebrow.

"If I had a death wish," said Katherine, an edge to her voice. "I can't kill her with Tom watching me all the time. If I start acting up he's going to realise something's up. I seriously think it's only because of Severus that I'm still around."

"What?" This time Remus' voice was free of anger, the question generated purely from shock. Katherine pulled a face, as though she'd said more than intended to.

"He got a lot of sway with Tom and he's been protecting me. Think Tom's probably worked out he likes me, but-" She shrugged, bright eyes unusually dull. "Well, he doesn't know the feeling's mutual. So you see, as long as he stays thinking that, Severus has a chance. If we ever got together Tom would kill us both – I'm already a loose cannon, and if he thought Severus could be persuaded to cross him, he wouldn't risk keeping him close. He'd think it a shame, but he can find other followers. Tom doesn't leave things to chance – he went after Potter when he was a baby. If you nip things in the bud, there's no danger of them coming back to bite you." She appeared to consider this for a second, then shrugged and amended: "Most of the time."

Remus was quiet for a little while, then said softly: "You remember when you first came back? You said you'd worked out why he found you."

Hard blue eyes considered him for a moment, then Katherine gave a half hearted shrug. "He thought I'd kill him."

"What?"

"It's what he did – his father abandoned him, so he went after him. Guess he thought Dumbledore might turn me against him, so he decided to get in there first. Kind of worked, I suppose. Liked our dear headmaster less than I liked him, at least."

"But how did he know it was you? I mean, you look like your mum, but that doesn't mean he was the father." Remus stopped, taking in the curious expression on his friend's face.

"Exactly what are you insinuating about my mother, Remus?" asked Katherine, arching an eyebrow and doing her best to bite down the grin that was tugging at her lips.

"Nothing," said Remus quickly, blush creeping over her cheeks. Katherine laughed, waving a hand to show she wasn't angry.

"The age was about right and besides, I had this." She held up her right hand and Remus saw the sapphire studded ring on her finger. "He gave it to her, so he must have recognised it."

"And you worked all this out in Azkaban?"

"I had a lot of time to think," said Katherine calmly, though something about the way she said it made Remus think there was something she wasn't saying there. He sighed, running a hand through his hair and catching sight of the gold ring now on his own left hand.

"Is there any point staying mad at you?" he asked, gazing at the wedding band with a slight frown.

"Maybe. Real question: is there any point making up? I'm only going to do something else to make you mad at me in the future. Just depends which takes the most effort."

"Staying mad, definitely."

"Then call a truce? I won't ask about Tonks and you don't ask about Severus," suggested Katherine, taking the seat opposite him once more and smiling wryly.

"No," said Remus carefully, glancing up at her. "That won't work. How about I won't ask about Severus and you…oh, I don't know, kill Umbridge or something."

"Umbridge?" Katherine frowned a little, trying to remember where she'd heard that name before. "Who's she?"

"The devil's advocate," muttered Remus sourly, leaning back in his chair.

"No, that's my job, Rem," contradicted Katherine, smirking. "Nic mentioned her ages ago, something about- about you. Said she was giving you problems or something."

"I was joking, Kat. Don't kill her," said Remus, shaking his head. "It'll only make things worse."

"Can I hex her?" Remus stifled a laugh. "What?' asked Katherine, looking puzzled.

"Nothing, you just sounded a bit like Sirius, that's all." Katherine grinned, a trace of melancholy in her eyes and Remus smiled. "I know – how's this? I won't mention Severus and you don't mention Dumbledore. Deal?"

Katherine was quiet for a few seconds, considering him. "You want me to ask about Tonks?"

"What?"

"You said it wouldn't work – me not asking about her, and since I'm perfectly capable of ignoring her existence, I'm forced to suppose that the person it wouldn't work for is you."

"Yeah, well," Remus shrugged, eyes fixed on the glass of whiskey in front of him, looking a little sheepish. "I may have bent the truth a little."

"Oh yeah?"

"Like maybe I'd actually finished packing when she came round," he admitted, sighing heavily and glancing up at her. She smiled ruefully and reached for her own glass.

"I guess it's a deal, then."

"With no curse attached?" asked Remus lightly, earning himself an unimpressed glare.

"No curse attached. I think after forty odd years I might be able to trust you." She grinned and raised the whiskey in a toast. "To…not giving up. On anything. Or anyone."

"To not giving up," echoed Remus, gripping his own glass in his hand and grinning back at her. "And to old friends - the best kind there is."

**x – X – x**

_Reviews make me happy. :)_


	54. The beginning of the end, Part 1

**A/N:** I planned this chapter as one piece, but stretched to twenty pages, I've decided to split it. Enjoy Part 1 – reviews will encourage me to post Part 2 quickly. :)

**x – X – x **

**Chapter 53 – The beginning of the end, Part 1**

Robert Avery sat in the Drawing Room, supposedly working on a report concerning the increasing number of Floo blockages, but in reality watching his daughter Katy playing. She was currently studiously engaged in throwing tea parties for all her many toys, and this was the seventh room she'd commandeered for the task. Apparently each group of toys required a different ambience for their tea.

Robert gradually became aware of another presence in the room and looked up to find Cassandra watching him from the doorway. She smiled, and walked round to the back of his chair, slipping her arms around his neck and kissing him softly on the cheek.

"You don't have to worry about her," she murmured gently, resting her chin on his shoulder, her own gaze also wandering over to their young daughter, who was now pouring imaginary cups of tea out to the various assortment of dolls and teddies grouped on a small blanket. "She's young – she's forgotten all about it."

"We can't be sure of that," muttered Robert, pulling away slightly on the pretence of reviewing his report. Cassandra, however, wasn't having any of it. She stepped round to his side and knelt down so that their faces were level, then took his chin in her hand, forcing him to look at her.

"Yes we can – she stopped having nightmares weeks ago."

"She's stopped playing with Hector, too," said Robert dully, thinking of the forlorn looking teddy that lay abandoned in the corner of his daughter's room.

"Maybe that's for the best," said Cassandra, stroking the side of his face tenderly. "She's safe, Rob. We've made sure of that – Katherine dealt with that woman, didn't she? And what with all the wards you lot have put up, this place is probably harder to break into than Gringotts."

"I know," sighed Robert. "It's just...I don't know."

"Still having nightmares?" asked Cassandra quietly, oak leaf green eyes glimmering with concern. "I woke up in the night and you weren't there."

Robert shrugged, looking slightly uncomfortable.

"Went to check on her, that's all." He smiled sheepishly, then turned at the insistent tugging on his robes. Katy was standing there, one hand clutching a fistful of his dark robes, the other holding out a toy cup. "For me?" he asked, and Katy nodded, proffering the empty cup again. He took it, pretending to drink and Katy clambered up into his lap, snuggling into his chest and beaming up at her mother.

Cassandra smiled as Robert hugged his daughter, ten looked up, a movement by the door catching her eye. Boreas, their house elf, stood there, hopping nervously from one foot to the other, obviously wanting to speak, but unwilling to interrupt.

"What is it?" she asked, making Robert stop casting bright shapes in the air with his wand and glance up too, much to Katy's disappointment.

"Master's drawer is glowing," piped up the small elf, and Cassandra gave Robert an odd look.

"And why, exactly, is it doing that?" she questioned, and though her eyebrows were raised disapprovingly, there was a trace of a smile on her face.

"I don't-" began Robert, but then he stopped, a thought occurring to him. He lifted Katy off his lap and handed her to Cassandra before striding out of the room to his office. He stepped over the tea party that had been carefully set up in the middle of the floor and went to his desk where one of the drawers was indeed glowing, or at least, something inside it was. Golden light shone out from the gap between the wood and when he unlocked it and pulled it open, he found the source: Regulus' _arcanus membrana_, though of course this was his own copy and he'd certainly never be hearing from Regulus again.

He picked up the parchment, unfolding it to see the heading of black roses and beneath them a message, written in a hand as unfamiliar to him as the roses were familiar.

_HELP_

x – X – x

Katherine turned the page of the book she was reading, frowning a little. On the desk beside her sat an untidy pile of parchment, each sheet covered with her own fluid script. After a moment she set the book aside and added another note to the uppermost sheet.

A cautious knock on the door caught her attention and she called: "Come in" without looking up.

"Oh sorry, are you busy?" asked Ophelia, poking her head around the door and looking apologetic.

"Just doing a bit of research," said Katherine easily, finishing writing and laying down her quill. "D'you need something?"

"No, I just thought I'd let you know I'm going out tonight," replied Ophelia, and though she kept her tone casual, she couldn't stop the faint blush that tinged her cheeks.

"Oh yeah?" Katherine's voice was light and innocent, but that only made Ophelia grow redder, and Katherine grinned. "What's his name?"

"Christopher," mumbled Ophelia, cursing her pale complexion; she was in her late twenties and here she was, blushing like a school girl.

"Not anyone I know, then," said Katherine, casting an amused eye over the younger woman. "Is he nice? He'd better be, you know, unless he wants me, Ju and Severus after him." She frowned at the sudden guilty look that flickered across Ophelia's face. "Sorry, did I say something wrong?"

"No," said Ophelia quickly, biting her lip all the same. "It's just Julian."

"What about him?"

"Christopher is sort of...his best mate."

"Oh." Katherine paused, trying to think of something else to say, but a sudden thought stopped this. "Hang on, Christopher? In Julian's year? You don't mean Chris Avery, do you?"

Ophelia's scarlet blush was all the answer she needed. "You're going on a date with Rob's little brother? I thought he was married."

"No, that's Philip," said Ophelia, combing a hand through her short black hair. "Chris is his twin. And besides, technically I'm still married – Daniel won't divorce – says I'd try and take the house."

"It's your house," pointed out Katherine, leaning back in her seat. "From what I got out of Severus, your family has the money and Daniel's has the prestige."

Ophelia smiled grimly, leaning against the door jamb. "The perfect match."

"Chris not care you're married?" asked Katherine, raising one eyebrow questioningly.

"No. He's a lawyer – said he'd send some people round to Dan's," said Ophelia, dark eyes gleaming, and Katherine grinned again.

"Sounds like a nice guy."

"You don't know him, then?"

"No, not really – never met Robert's family. Only time I can recall actually seeing Chris was over twenty years ago, when he was saying goodbye to Rob at Kings Cross Station, and he must've been about seven, then." She smiled, meeting Ophelia's interest gaze. "He likes chocolate, I do know that."

Ophelia laughed, grinning. "I'll remember that." She hesitated, looking past Katherine at something on the desk. "Um, is it meant to be doing that?"

x – X – x

"Anything wrong?" asked Cassandra. Robert glanced around and saw her standing in the doorway, brow creased in concern.

"I have to go out for a while," he said, looking back at the parchment. _'Help'_. That was all – not _'help, I am at this place and here's a map of how to get there'_, not even _'help, this is Harry'_. Robert squinted again at the writing and decided against that – he didn't think Harry's writing would be that messy, and since it wasn't feminine, it was probably Ron – but whether he was alone or not was a different matter.

"Knock knock," said a soft voice, and Robert heard Cassandra gasp. He rolled his eyes and stuffed the parchment in his pocket, summoning his cloak from the hall.

"You know where they are?" he asked, turning to see Katherine lounging against the wall of the study, getting a very disapproving look from Cassandra.

"There are such things as front doors, Katherine," she said reproachfully, arching her eyebrows.

"You really want people knowing I'm visiting?" asked Katherine, grinning at her old friend. "Anyway, I'm not stopping – just come to borrow your husband for a bit." She turned her attention back to Robert, a grim look replacing the humour. "And yeah, I know where they are. His signature's rather distinctive."

"Not hard to track, then?"

"Not very, no." She smiled as he pulled on his cloak and kissed Cassandra on the cheek.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," he said softly, and though she nodded, he could see the worry in her green eyes.

"You bring him back in one piece, you hear me?" she said firmly, pointing a finger at Katherine, who grinned.

"How big d'you want the piece?"

"I'll be fine," said Robert quickly, taking his wife's hand. She stopped glaring at Katherine and looked up at him instead.

"You'd better be." He smiled wryly and kissed her again.

"Promise." He glanced back at Katherine, who was checking her watch. "Come on, then."

They didn't speak again till they were outside, surrounded by the trees in the vast garden behind the house. "So, where are they?"

Katherine smiled sourly, pulling out her wand to disapparate. "Sunshine Palace."

x – X – x

Lucius Malfoy stood before the two teenagers, grey eyes narrowed distrustfully.

"I will ask you one more time, Potter. What were you doing here?"

Harry said nothing, only looked firmly at the floor, avoiding eye contact. Lucius sighed impatiently, and cast a glance over the mudblood seated on the chair next to him.

"Where's your other friend? The Weasley boy?"

"He isn't with us," said Harry, anger and frustration evident in his voice. "It's just me and Hermione."

"Oh? One to sneak around, the other as a lookout?" asked Lucius, arching his eyebrows.

"That's right," said Harry firmly, risking a quick glance up at his captor. Lucius' long blonde hair was shining in the torchlight and his hard grey eyes were dark with suspicion.

"So if I were to check how many people entered this house," he said silkily, leaning forward a little to get a better look at his prisoners. "I'd find that there have only been three in the past day, would I? You, the mudblood and myself?"

"Yes," said Harry, though Lucius heard the slight hesitation in his voice.

"Better make that five," said a soft voice from the doorway, and Lucius whirled around to see an unpleasantly familiar women grinning at him. "Hello Lucius. What brings you here?"

"Five?" asked Lucius, ignoring her question. A movement behind Katherine caught his attention and a blond man stepped out of the shadows, light brown eyes glimmering in the torchlight. "Avery?" Lucius frowned, looking back at Katherine, a feeling of unease beginning to creep over him. "What's going on?" he asked slowly, instinctively taking a small step backward, fingers curling tightly around his wand.

Katherine smiled, blue eyes gleaming, but this only served to fuel the knot of worry that was growing in his stomach.

"Nothing's going on, Lucius. We just wanted a word with Potter."

"How'd you know he was here?" questioned Lucius, gazing flickered between the two newcomers. "And who's we? Since when were you two friends?" he demanded, gesturing to Avery.

Avery glanced at Katherine, appearing to consider the question. "How old were we, Kat? Fifteen? Sixteen?"

"Sixteen," said Katherine firmly. "End of fifth year - you got me through my Ancient Runes revision and I swore eternal friendship."

"Ah yes," nodded Robert, smirking. "And then you had the cheek to get more marks than me on the exam."

"Well I am brilliant." She grinned, then switched her gaze to Harry. "You all right?"

"Fine," muttered Harry, a vaguely accusing look in his emerald eyes. She glanced at Lucius, who was staring at her in something like horror, and shrugged.

"Sorry, Potter, I didn't think anyone would be here. Why _are_ you here?" she added, frowning at Lucius who seemed to be struggling to find his tongue. "I didn't think this place was very...you. Bit too dark, even for a Malfoy. Houses the ugly side of the dark arts, as it were."

"Your side, you mean?" asked Lucius sourly; even in this light his pale face looked whiter than usual.

"That's low, Lucius," said Katherine, sounding a little reproving.

"You think a normal person comes up with _Inopia_?" scowled Lucius, but there was a trace of fear in his grey eyes.

"No, I think someone who's father shut them up in a room with a boggart and no wand comes up with Inopia," said Katherine calmly, raising her eyebrows slightly. "If I'm unbalanced it's only because Tom made me that way."

"So now you're in league with Potter? To get back at him?" spat Lucius, and Harry saw the hand that held his wand trembling; Malfoy was frightened. Katherine looked pensively at Robert, eyebrows drawn together in a thoughtful frown.

"Are we in league with Potter, d'you think?"

"No," said Robert, an equally meditative look on his own face. "I don't think so. If anything, he's probably in league with _us_, but I don't think any of us will want that recorded in the history books."

"No," agreed Katherine, grinning again now. "It'd do irreparable damage to all of our reputations. Can't have people thinking we might be nice, can we?"

"Stop mucking around," hissed Lucius, glaring at them. "You're putting a noose round all our necks."

Katherine's grin faded, blue eyes suddenly focusing on Lucius, expression serious. "Actually, I think you're already wearing yours; your son's made sure of that."

"What?" For the first time, Lucius' cool exterior broke for a second, and there was a flash of real fear and confusion on his narrow face. "What's Draco got to do with anything?"

"He's been helping Potter," said Katherine calmly, looking over at Harry, still tied to a chair. "Isn't that right, Harry?" Harry frowned at her for a moment, trying for the second time to learn how she'd found out, then nodded.

"You're lying," said Lucius quickly, his voice barely above a whisper. "Draco would never..." He stopped, seemingly unable to go on, though whether this was due to doubt or fear Harry couldn't tell.

"How'd you think they got in here?" asked Katherine, watching Lucius closely with keen blue eyes.

"You helped them," muttered Lucius, shrugging his shoulders. "You're mental, Riddle, you always were - even more so of late."

"You think I'd risk that? Being caught aiding Potter into one of the most covert hideouts we have?" asked Katherine, treating Lucius to a quizzical look. "Tom'd have my head if I was found out."

"And yet here you are," said Lucius, a sarcastic note creeping into his voice. "Talking to Potter like an old friend in front of me and not even making an effort to pretend otherwise. Are you going to kill me now or when my back is turned?"

"I wasn't planning on killing anyone, Lucius. You don't have to die unless you want to." She paused, frowning a little. "Do you?"

"No of course I don't," snapped Lucius, glaring at her. "But unless you are also planning on handing Potter over to the Dark Lord right now, I think I may have to ask you to. If he were to discover I knew of your alliance - and it does seem to be that, Riddle, despite your protests - and didn't tell him, I very much doubt that my life would be worth living." He smiled sourly, and there was no humour in it. "And you would disappear off the face of the earth, no doubt, and never be troubled again."

"There is another option," said Katherine calmly, holding his gaze.

"And what would that be?"

"We kill Tom."

There was a long pause in which Lucius stared at her, presumably trying to work out whether she was joking or not. Eventually he managed:

"You're crazy, Riddle."

"Why are you so nervous, then?" she asked, hand straying to the snake pendant around her neck. "If you don't think I'm serious-"

"Oh I think you're serious," cut in Lucius, with a hollow laugh. "You're just crazy." He looked at her, grey eyes lifeless. "You can't kill the Dark Lord, Katherine. Not with a couple of teenagers and a half wit Ministry worker."

To Lucius' surprise, Avery chuckled at this, a dangerous smile curling his lips and suddenly he recalled a conversation he'd overheard his mother having years ago with Esmerelda Avery, about her eldest son's disappointing NEWT results._ 'Nearly all Outstandings in his OWLs and now this...' _He shut his eyes, bowing his head in defeat.

"You're faking, aren't you?" he asked in a very quiet voice, and Avery laughed again.

"Very good, Lucius," said Robert darkly. "Took you long enough."

"And you," said Lucius, looking up and eyeing Katherine with dislike. "You persuaded the Dark Lord not to take on any more Averys – said being lumbered with one was bad enough."

"Did you?" asked Robert, looking at his old friend in surprise. "I didn't know that."

"Well you'd already lost Louise," shrugged Katherine, turning back to Harry and Hermione, who were sitting silently on their chairs, watching them. "Didn't think you'd want your brothers killed too. You untied yet?" This last question was directed at Harry, who scowled, but nodded.

"_Look up the works of JH Raine?_" he quoted, rubbing his wrists and glaring at her.

"I told you – I didn't know he was going to be here," she protested, gesturing at Lucius. "Thought the place would be empty. Anyway, did you find it?" Harry looked pointedly at Lucius, but Katherine only waved a hand carelessly. "He won't tell – you heard him, he wants to live."

"He will tell," said Lucius sharply, folding his arms and looking firmly at Katherine. "So don't say anything else."

Katherine frowned, considering him for a moment, then turned back to Harry. "He won't tell – he's just trying to stop us implicating him further."

"Look, Katherine, you're insane," said Lucius smoothly, stepping closer to her and getting eye contact. "And Avery's an idiot – probably just following you because he's easily led, or else he's trying to stop you doing something stupid-"

"I know the whole Prophecy." Lucius stopped dead at that, eyes widening in shock, and Katherine grinned, patting him sympathetically on the shoulder. "There, unless you run off to Tom right this minute, you're now guilty as hell for concealing information, so you can shut up and listen."

"You can't kill him, Katherine."

"No, but Harry can."

Lucius looked over at Harry again, his scepticism clear on his face, but he didn't comment – instead he asked: "How did you get untied?"

"The Weasley boy," said another voice, and Ron appeared suddenly, pulling off the invisibility cloak. Lucius gave him a contemptuous glance, then looked at Harry.

"You have certainly been spending time around Katherine – she lies, too."

"I do not," objected Katherine, folding her arms defiantly. "Not to you, anyway. Not that I remember."

"So you're not helping Potter?" questioned Lucius, one eyebrow raised.

"That wasn't lying," said Katherine carefully, narrowing her bright eyes. "I never explicitly said I wasn't."

"You never explicitly say anything, Katherine, because you're absolutely mental, as I said before."

"We're going to kill the Dark Lord, Lucius," said Katherine softly, voice deadly serious. "We know how to and we have the means and you're going to let these three walk out of here unharmed and you're not going to say anything to anyone, because if you do, I'll kill Draco. That explicit enough for you?"

Lucius looked at her for a long moment, then said quietly: "You wouldn't kill a eighteen year old in cold blood."

Katherine only smiled, blue eyes glimmering. "Try me."

**x – X – x**

_In case anyone is curious about Chris Avery, and since I don't intend to write much about him, he's pretty much like the Regulus Black in the real Harry Potter books – not overly handsome, but smart and nice, in a Slytherin sort of way._

_As for the rest of this chapter, rest assured, there will be answers aplenty in the next part, as well as an event some of you have been asking about for ages. The end is in sight..._


	55. The beginning of the end, Part 2

**A/N: **Since the last chapter got some nice reviews, I thought I'd post this quickly and not keep you in suspense. First though, I'll reply to those of you whom I can't reply to individually:

**ivy **– I'm really glad you like my story, and your English seems excellent to me.

**mandita **– Yes, the end is indeed in sight, and I've actually planned the chapters our for once. Updates should be relatively quick now, as I've pretty much been planning this ending since about half way through Fire Burns. It's changed a bit, but it's remained basically the same. As for whether Katherine would kill Draco, well, I think she's mainly relying on the fact that Lucius will give in, but you never can tell with her.

**Mysti **- Good to know you liked the chapter, and I hope this update is quick enough. :) 

**Friend** – I didn't mean to end it there, but I thought a 20 page chapter was overkill, so my apologies. As for seeing the last of Katherine, I might write a selection of snapshots in the time between leaving Hogwarts and the Dark Lord's first fall, but I'm not sure yet. There's definitely going to be another one-shot from Katherine's point of view up in the not too distant future, though...

**x – X – x**

**Chapter 53, Part 2 – The beginning of the end**

"Katherine, unless you're intending to murder the Dark Lord very soon, there will most likely be another meeting between now and then," said Lucius, and it seemed to Harry that there was a touch of desperation in his voice. "And since I cannot hide my emotions nearly so well as our dear friend Severus - and considering, after all these years, the Dark Lord still has no idea as to the full extent of his feelings towards you, I must suppose he can hide them _very_ well – he will know that something is amiss."

Katherine held his gaze for a moment, then looked over at Harry. "How long d'you reckon you need to prepare? A day? A week?"

Harry glanced at Lucius, but the damage had already been done there – he either told or he didn't, and letting him know the date could hardly make things any worse.

"About a week, I suppose," he said, thinking about it. "Maybe a bit longer."

"Think you can hold out for that long?" said Katherine, half grinning at Lucius. "Or do I need to kill you?"

"Are you serious about this?" asked Lucius, grey eyes searching hers earnestly.

"Deadly."

"Then I'll leave and we'll say no more about it."

"Wise decision," said Robert, smiling grimly. Lucius raised his eyebrows, looking morose.

"I doubt that, Avery, but it is, of course, the only one that gives me a fighting chance. And you," he added, turning to Katherine. "Are worse than your father."

With that, he left, striding out of the room and into the maze of corridors beyond.

"Charming man, I've always thought," said Katherine, watching him go with a vaguely amused look on her face.

"You're really letting him go?" asked Robert, staring at her.

"Lucius may be many things, Rob, but he's still human and he loves his son, however much he may pretend otherwise," said Katherine, looking mildly at him. "Besides, I owe him. Twice."

"For what?" asked Robert, frowning at her; he'd never heard Katherine and Lucius do anything but argue.

"Stuff," said Katherine shortly, and the tone of her voice carried its own warnings against pressing further. "You never answered my question, Harry. Did you find it?"

"Taking into account the fact that you never actually told us what to look for," said Harry, folding his arms and frowning at her from his position on the chair. "And sent us into a booby trapped house which, incidentally, has a _very_ misleading name, and then took your bloody time coming to help us, it's a wonder we're still here at all. And what did Malfoy mean about Snape's feelings towards you?"

Robert glanced at Katherine, biting down a smirk and she glared at him, daring to make a remark, but he only smiled and became suddenly fascinated by the ceiling. Katherine sighed and slumped against the dark mahogany panels that lined the walls, left hand curled around her necklace, and met Harry's irked gaze.

"First off, I presumed that as soon you couldn't find any books by JH Raine, you'd go to Draco in case he was author of some dark magic tome. Did you?"

"Yeah," admitted Harry, grudgingly.

"And he said?"

"That JH Raine was an architect and that he built a place called Sunshine Palace, which is now used by Death Eaters," said Harry, glancing at Ron and Hermione, in case he'd missed anything, but they only nodded their agreement.

"And you didn't expect to find booby traps in a place used by Death Eaters?" questioned Katherine, arching an incredulous eyebrow.

"Not ones that try and decapitate you the moment you walk in the door, no," said Harry irritably, glowering at her. "If it wasn't for Hermione, Ron'd probably be joining the Headless Hunt right about now."

"Very good thing you've got Hermione then, isn't it?" said Katherine calmly, and hurriedly continued before Harry could cut in. "As for the name – Raine was a vampire."

"And?" asked Harry, totally nonplussed.

"Sunshine is deadly to vampires," said Hermione quietly, looking to Katherine for confirmation. "Worst way to die, for them."

"Right," agreed Katherine. "If he'd been human, he'd probably have named it Poison Palace or something similar, and coated the walls with arsenic."

"What?" This last comment drew blank stares from the trio.

"The walls are made of wood," supplied Robert, tapping the polished panels with his knuckles. "Also deadly to vampires."

"So this entire house is a death trap?" asked Ron, giving Katherine an unimpressed stare. "You sent us into a death trap?"

"For vampires, not for humans."

"But a death trap nevertheless."

"You want to kill Nagini, you need to track her down, something you can only reliably do with an object from this house," said Katherine serenely, looking at Harry. "Something else I was banking on Draco mentioning to you."

"The Obsidian Stone?" asked Harry, reaching into his jeans pocket and pulling it out; Katherine grinned.

"So he did tell you about it."

"It was the only thing he did know was in the place," said Harry, examining the stone. "Said it could charm snakes. Said he'd overheard you talking about it to some other Death Eater a few weeks ago." He scowled at her. "You could have just told us what we had to do."

"Where's the adventure in that?" asked Katherine, blue eyes glimmering with amusement once more. "Far better to use your brain and work things out for yourself."

"Well what _are_ we supposed to do with it," asked Hermione, arching her eyebrows. "What use is charming a snake we can't find?"

"Draco only said it could charm snakes because that's what he heard me tell McKenzie," said Katherine, shaking her head. "That's not what it is really."

"Well what is it, then?" questioned Ron, peering over Harry's shoulder at the smooth, fist sized black stone.

"It's a summoning stone," said Robert, though his gaze rested on Katherine, not the object in Harry's hand. "You can use it to call Nagini – the Dark Lord created it a few months after he came back to power. Just an experiment, I think, and the snake was his test subject."

"Experimenting for what?" frowned Hermione, as Katherine glanced at Robert.

"Calling us, I suppose," said Robert, still giving Katherine a shrewd look. "In case he ever only wanted a certain person to come to him, or maybe he was just trying to see if you were still alive, Kat."

"He doesn't have anything of mine to put into a stone," said Katherine darkly. "You'd need blood or something."

"Maybe, but that's not the point, Katherine. Only the Dark Lord can use that stone – it's not of any use to us," said Robert, frowning at her.

"So this has been for nothing?" asked Ron, staring at Katherine incredulously.

"No - we don't need Tom to make it work, we've got Harry," said Katherine, tearing her gaze away from Robert and speaking quickly. "When we went after Hufflepuff's cup, you said you had a link with Voldemort, created the night he tried to kill you, and then that night in the graveyard he took your blood. That means when he made the Obsidian Stone, he made it work for both of you. You can use it because it'll recognise your blood and magical signature Tom left on you the night he failed to murder you as a baby."

There was silence for a few seconds, while everyone took this in, then Robert said in a quiet voice: "Katherine?"

"Yes?"

"That's the second time you've come out with something you couldn't possibly have known."

"What?" She frowned, staring at him in bewilderment.

"You weren't at the graveyard," said Robert firmly. "I know – I was there. First you mention the ghosts, now you know about the blood, which I'm presuming did happen, because Harry here hasn't denied it, but which I never saw. That happened before any Death Eaters arrived, so how the _hell_ do you know about it?"

"That's not important," said Katherine, tugging at her necklace absentmindedly, and grimacing.

"Are you all right?" asked Hermione quietly, giving her slightly worried look.

"Fine," murmured Katherine, shaking her head. "Azkaban shadow, that's all."

"Azkaban what?" asked Harry, staring at her.

"The Dementors affect you if you stay there too long," said Ron, much to his friend's surprise. "Dad said the place gets into your head. Probably part of the reason why Sirius was a bit off sometimes, too."

"That, and being cooped up in a house he hated," muttered Katherine, rubbing her eyes tiredly. "Equivalent of locking me up in here." She grimaced again, casting a bitter look around the room.

"You've stayed here?" asked Robert, arching an eyebrow.

"Not out of choice," said Katherine gloomily, eyeing the painting that hung over the fireplace with distaste, and for a moment she looked as though she was going to say more, but then she shook her head. "You should go home, Harry. Alert the Order and sort things out. A week from now, what's that? Next Tuesday?"

"Better make it Thursday – gives us a little more time," said Harry, rolling the stone over in his fingers. "D'you know how to use this?"

"Just hold it and call Nagini. You speak parseltongue, right?"

"Yeah. So I just call her?"

"Yes, and when she arrives, kill her. Don't suppose you've got a sword or something, have you? Only I have a feeling she might be impervious to spells."

"I don't own one, but I've got a good idea where to find one," said Harry, smiling grimly.

"As long as it's a decent one."

"Oh it is," said Harry firmly, standing up.

"Right, well if that's all, I suggest we leave," said Katherine, eyes lingering once more on the painting that hung innocuously over the fire. Curious, Harry glanced over at it, but couldn't see what was drawing her attention – the canvas was mostly black, with a few patches of dull reds and whites - not a proper picture at all.

"It's what you see when you close your eyes," Katherine said in a soft voice, and he turned back to see her watching him. Robert, Hermione and Ron were already by the door, waiting for them. "Nothing but darkness and after images."

"Why paint that?" asked Harry frowning sceptically, not moving from his spot on the floor, and Katherine smiled faintly.

"Because no one would want to see what made you close your eyes," she said quietly, casting a dark look at the painting. "Come on, this is not a place you want to be in longer than you can help it."

"Is that why you wanted us to get the stone?" asked Harry as they left, keeping his voice low so that only she could hear. "You didn't want to come back here?"

"It's not my favourite place, if that's what you mean," said Katherine, and though her tone was careless, he noticed that she too kept her voice quiet. "Besides, I admit I was a little curious as to whether you could do it or not."

"We would have been fine if Malfoy hadn't turned up," said Harry. "He was looking through the bookcases and caught sight of us in the corridor; Ron just had time to hide under the cloak so he could send a message to you before he came out. Are you sure we can trust him? I mean, you told him you knew the Prophecy. Why'd you do that?"

"To make sure he didn't go running to Tom," replied Katherine, smiling a little at his perplexed expression. "Trust me, it'll work."

"Why?"

"Because Severus is Lucius' oldest friend." She glanced at him, then sighed. "Oh fine. We've only got a week to live so I may as well tell you. If Lucius went to Tom to tell him about this, there's a very good chance that Tom would use Legilimency on him to get the full story. With me so far?"

"Yeah," said Harry, though he wasn't quite so sure of where this was going.

"Up until I told him about the Prophecy, he was right – he could have persuaded Tom I was mad or something, and I would've been punished, but I'd live."

"But if Voldemort found out that you've known the Prophecy this whole time he'd kill you?" finished Harry, looking questioningly at her.

"To say the least," agreed Katherine, glancing ahead at Robert who kept looking back at her, a concerned expression on his face.

"But that doesn't explain why he won't tell," pointed out Harry, frowning at her.

"He won't tell, because if he got me killed, Severus would kill him," said Katherine, running a hand through her glossy black hair.

"Because you're friends with Snape?"

"Yes," said Katherine slowly, not quite meeting his gaze and as Harry looked at her, he was suddenly reminded of the way Lupin had looked when Harry had asked why Katherine had forgiven Snape for murdering Dumbledore; it was exactly the same look that Katherine now wore, a look that he was learning meant: 'there is more to this than I am willing to divulge'.

Malfoy had said that Snape had feelings for her, and if, as Katherine thought, those feelings meant that he'd kill his oldest friend if he put her in harms way, Harry was inclined to think that they were a little stronger than simple friendship. And Lupin knew, of course, that was why he understood that Katherine wouldn't care that Snape had killed Dumbledore, and why, when Harry had asked about her and Sirius, he'd hesitated for a moment before saying that she'd loved him.

"_Did_ you love Sirius?" he asked suddenly, unable to stop himself, and Katherine looked at him in surprise.

"Of course I did."

"Really?"

Katherine eyed him for a moment, then shrugged. "Yes, really. Just not as much as he loved me."

They'd reached the front door now, and Harry was glad to feel the sunlight on his face once more, even if it was fading as night approached. He looked back up at the stone walls, noticing something that he'd failed to realise when they were inside.

"It's got windows," he said blankly, and Ron laughed.

"Is that a problem?"

"There weren't any inside," said Hermione softly, nodding at Harry. "I thought that."

"Just illusions," said Katherine, shrugging when they looked at her. "Not that hard to do."

"But why bother?" asked Ron, peering into the closest one.

"Would you go into a house with no windows and one door?" asked Katherine, arching an eyebrow. "Can't even Floo out 'cause it's not connected to the network." She shook her head, turning away from the building. "I'm going home – no, scratch that, I'm going to the pub. Let me know when you've sorted things out – we can think of a plan to bring Tom to us."

"What?" asked Harry, glancing at her with a frown.

"In case you hadn't noticed, your side isn't exactly winning this war at present – Tom's forces are better equipped and have no scruples in killing anyone who gets in their way. If we're making a last stand, we're choosing the place. Might give us a bit of an edge, or at the very least stop innocent people getting hurt." She sighed, running a distracted hand through her hair again. "And you, Rob, get back to Cass. I promised you'd be back safe."

Robert gave her a mock salute and disapparated. Next to Harry, Ron and Hermione pulled out their wands to do the same, but Harry glanced at Katherine, who was walking away and said quickly: "You two go ahead, I'll catch you up."

"Why? What are you doing?" asked Hermione, looking worriedly at him.

"Just go – I'll be fine," assured Harry, running after Katherine. "Hey, wait."

Katherine glanced back at him, raising her eyebrows slightly. "What is it?"

"Did you mean it?"

"What?"

"That we've only got a week to live?" asked Harry, hearing faint pops behind him as Ron and Hermione departed. Something like pity flickered in Katherine's eyes and she shook her head.

"Just Azkaban talking. Ignore me."

"But we could, couldn't we?"

"Yeah. Could also get hit by a bus as you cross the street - doesn't mean you will."

"Challenging Voldemort probably has lower odds, though," said Harry, surprised to find his voice calm. "I mean, that's what the Prophecy says, isn't it? 'Neither can live while the other survives'?" To his bemusement, Katherine smiled at this.

"What? And you think that means you have to die with him or something?"

"Well doesn't it?" he questioned, looking seriously at her.

"Harry, when was the last time you just...relaxed. Did nothing? Had a water fight? Hung out with your friends, and no, researching ways to bring down the Dark Lord does not count as 'hanging out'," she added with a smile, sitting down on the low wall that ran around the dark building.

"What's that got to do with anything?" asked Harry, frowning at her in bewilderment.

"Because that's life, Harry," she said with a slightly rueful sigh. "You haven't had a normal life – first your family's forced into hiding, then you're orphaned and stuck with magic hating relatives for ten years, before you eventually go to Hogwarts and meet with Tom again. Fighting basilisks and evil megalomaniacs is not a life – you aren't free to enjoy being alive while Voldemort lives, and he can't breathe freely until you're destroyed. That's what the Prophecy means."

"So I've got a chance?"

"'Course you have. Got a very good track record, too," grinned Katherine, though Harry thought there was something a little dispirited about it. "Fought him off a few times now, haven't you?"

"And you? Have you got a chance?" he asked, studying her closely.

"There's always a chance," she shrugged, gaze wandering past him to the setting sun.

"But?"

"But somehow I just don't think Tom go down without taking me with him," she shrugged, voice curiously serene despite her dismal words. "Still, I have a week to tie up some loose ends and be with my friends. That's a lot more than most people get, and there are worse things than dying - Azkaban, for one."

"And you already died once." She grinned, blue eyes brightening for a moment.

"That I did."

They stood in companionable silence for a while, then Harry said: "Wait here."

"What?"

"Just wait here – I'll be back in a minute."

Katherine watched him disapparate with a bemused smile, and reached into her pocket for the sheet of paper she knew was glowing. Unfolding it, she saw Robert's neat handwriting, asking if she was alright. She grabbed a stone from the ground by her feet and transfigured it into a pen to write a short reply, assuring him that she was, then pocketed the paper again, eyes drawn once more to the imposing building before her.

Harry had been right when he'd guessed she hadn't wanted to enter it again; there were too many bad memories in there, ghosts from her past that she'd rather forget about. Still, with any luck, in a weeks time she'd get some peace at last; all she had to do was stay alive till then.

A faint pop reached her ears and Harry stood before her once more, something white held tightly in his hand.

"I suppose I should have given this to you months ago, but-" He shrugged, holding it out to her, green eyes not exactly defiant, but not quite apologetic either. Curious, she took the object, staring at it blankly.

"It's a napkin, Harry." She looked up at him, a mystified expression on her face. "What exactly am I meant to do with it?"

"Turn it over," was all the response she got, and, feeling a little silly, she did. There was an address written on the other side in bold black biro, but that wasn't what made her heart skip a beat and the breath catch in her throat. _That handwriting, she knew that handwriting..._

"Where did you get this?" she asked, voice barely above a whisper.

"A man gave it to me in Diagon Alley last August," said Harry, and when she looked up, his green eyes were as hard as diamonds. "We think his name was Hunt."

"Kel," said Katherine faintly, swallowing the lump in her throat, because it couldn't be, it just couldn't be what she thought it was - that was too much to ask.

"He told me to give it to a woman called Riddle," said Harry, still watching her closely. "Said to tell her she was right and that he was sorry."

"I was right?" repeated Katherine shakily, and it might have been his imagination, but he thought he could see the beginnings of tears in her blue eyes. "That's what he said?"

"Yeah," nodded Harry. "Does it mean anything to you?"

"That all he said?"

"Yes – someone killed him right afterwards," said Harry, as she folded the napkin up again, an odd look on her face. "You ok?"

She glanced up, and Harry saw she was grinning. "You've been hiding this since we met?"

Harry shrugged, wondering why he wasn't surprised that she found it funny – he'd been expecting her to be angry, but somehow this reaction didn't shock him at all.

"Guess you could call it...insurance," he said carefully, and her grin widened. "In case you were lying when you said we could trust you."

"Smart boy," she laughed. "But you could hardly be sure that this would mean anything to me."

"A man died giving it to me," he pointed out reasonably. "That does seem to indicate some importance."

"Only to me," said Katherine softly, then frowned. "Well, that's not quite true, I suppose. Tom would probably kill to get his hands on it, too."

"What is it?"

"It's an address."

"Yes, I know that," sighed Harry, rolling his eyes.

"Yes, you do," she said, a pensive look on her face. "And you're a nice person, Harry, so I'm...marginally sorry for this." Harry was about to ask her what she was on about, but too late he saw her make a complicated movement with her wand.

"What did you do?" he asked, checking himself for any signs of damage, though there didn't seem to be any.

"Just wiped the address out of your memory," said Katherine calmly, pocketing the napkin carefully. "Don't you recognise a Fidelus charm when you see it?"

"What? You mean that address-"

"You've been a secret keeper for the best part of eight months," grinned Katherine. "Passed on to you when Kel died, and I can't have you letting Tom find it out through that damned connection of yours."

"Would he want to?" asked Harry, looking surprised and Katherine smiled grimly.

"Oh yes, he's wanted to find her for years."

"Who?"

"Well, if it's who I think it is," she said slowly, a slightly apprehensive look on her face. "Someone who's supposed to be dead."

"Like you?" asked Harry with a grin, and Katherine laughed, blue eyes glinting brightly in the dying rays of sunlight.

"Yes, Harry, someone like me."

**x – X – x**

_Reviews make me happy, and seeing as I get my A level results in a few hours, I may be in need of cheering up... _


	56. Loose ends

**A/N: **Before anyone gets too excited, I have to say I'm only posting two chapters up at the moment. Writing is being done on the last section of this story but it's going _very_ slowly. However, I'm posting two new updates because it leaves the story in a better place, and at least there'll be some closure on a couple of issues that many people have been wondering about for some time. ;)

Therefore, enjoy, and I hope you have a very Happy Christmas!

**x – X – x**

**Chapter 54 – Loose ends**

Neville Longbottom frowned at the small sound outside the curtains and glanced nervously at his watch. He'd sneaked out of school earlier that night, with no real idea why, just knowing that he didn't want to spend another evening sitting in the common room with the rest of his classmates, listening anxiously to the radio for any news on Voldemort.

He'd ended up in London, and after that it had only seemed natural to go to Saint Mungos. Visiting hours were long since over, but he'd managed to sneak into the ward without being seen, and since the curtains were nearly always drawn around his parents' beds, there wasn't much risk of anyone discovering him unless they actually came right into the ward. Which someone had.

Quietly, trying to make as little noise as possible, he crept over to the curtains and peered out. There was a figure standing by one of the beds which held long term patients, but whoever it was wasn't a nurse; even in this dim light he could see the person wasn't wearing the distinctive robes of a Healer. He drew back slightly as the figure moved, appearing to consider the sleeping woman in the bed, then stifled a gasp as one hand knocked back the hood of the travelling cloak and he saw who it was.

Black hair hung loose around her shoulders, contrasting sharply with her pale face and even from this angle he recognised her as the woman in the papers. He swallowed hard, wondering what to do. Did he stay put and pray she didn't detect him, or did he make a break for it and try and warn someone?

Then she pulled a wand out of her pocket, frowning down at the sleeping woman before her and he made his decision. Wrapping his fingers around his own wand he paused one second longer, then burst out of the curtains, running full pelt towards the ward doors, not even trying to stun the figure because he knew she'd dodge in time.

He saw her head jerk up, eyes widen in shock, and then he was feet from the door, reaching out to push it open, fingers brushing the wood-

Something hard hit him in the back, knocking him flying and slamming his head into the door as he fell. He tried to move, to throw a curse back behind him, but he'd fallen on top of his wand arm and whatever it was that had hit him was now on his back, pinning him to the floor.

By his ear, something growled, and tiny pinpricks of pain dug into his shoulders. _Ok, not human, definitely some sort of animal. Some sort of animal with claws – very sharp claws._

He looked sideways, back down the length of the ward, expecting at any moment to see a pair of feet walk into his line of vision and a cold face stare down at him, but nothing happened. Above him, the creature had stopped growling, and by the slight shift in it's weight, he guessed it was sitting up, maybe listening for the sounds of approaching Healers.

After about a minute, however, the pressure on his back was lifted, and he could move again. He lay where he was for a moment, trying to work out what was going on, then, very slowly, he sat up. _Turn around,_ urged the small voice in his head, as he checked his wand to made sure it hadn't been damaged in the fall. _Just turn around. Refusing to look at the danger won't make it go away._

He closed his eyes, trying to stop his hand trembling, and then turned.

Katherine Riddle was sitting cross legged before him, resting her back against the foot of a bed. The photographs in the _Daily Prophet_really didn't do her justice, he thought obscurely, but then, how could they? Pictures showed an image, and this woman had her own atmosphere.

Deep blue eyes gazed at him, half shadowed in the low light, and Neville got the distinctly uneasy feeling that she was seeing right through him, learning everything about him from that one piercing look.

And then she grinned, and the air of foreboding mystery was destroyed.

"Sorry about that," she said lightly, tilting her head back so that it rested on the bar that ran across the bottom of the bed. "You're not hurt, are you?"

Neville stared at her in bewilderment, unable to manage anything apart from a blank: "No."

"Well that's alright then," she smiled, blue eyes never leaving his face. It was quite unnerving, really, the way she gave you her complete attention. "You remind me of someone. What's your name?"

"Neville," he answered truthfully, too stunned to attempt a lie.

"Surname," she said, giving him an amused look.

"Longbottom."

"Longbottom? You don't look much like- oh, but he married Alice, didn't he? So you're Frank and Alice's son." She seemed to be talking more to herself than to him, so he didn't respond, but then she frowned, as a thought occurred to her. "Where _are_your parents? I mean, they're Aurors, aren't they? Frank was there when I got arrested, but I haven't seen him since, well, since then, actually."

Neville's stare was incredulous this time. "You don't know?"

"Know what?" she asked, a worried frown creasing her forehead.

"They're-" He stopped, not able or willing to get to the words out, and shrugged. "They're over there," he said quietly, gesturing a hand to the closed curtains at the end of the ward.

Riddle's frown increased, her intense gaze moving to the curtains and Neville could almost see the wheels turning in her head as she worked it out.

"What happened?" she asked eventually, voice surprisingly gentle, and it was this that made Neville answer.

"They were tortured by Death Eaters," he said hollowly, watching closely to see her reaction.

"Bella." It wasn't a question, more like a sigh. "I'm sorry. She's a bit...mental." Neville saw her grimace at her choice of words and look back at him, a look in her eyes that he might have regarded as contrite if it had been anyone else. "Sorry."

"Why? You didn't do it," he said, surprised at his own daring.

"Didn't kill Bella either, though, did I?" she replied, scowling. "And it's not like I've never had an opportunity. Still, I think it's about time we had it out – it's either me or her, and I'm damned if it's going to be me."

"You want to kill Bellatrix Lestrange?" asked Neville, unable to disguise his astonishment.

"More than I want to destroy Tom." She grinned savagely, hauling herself to her feet. "And luckily for me, Bella's a damn sight easier to kill."

"Who's Tom?"

"A very nasty man," she said, casting another look at the drawn curtains. "He was a damn good Auror, your father. Good friend, too."

"Friend?" asked Neville, gaping at her and she glanced round, catching his expression and laughing.

"Oh not mine," she said quickly, grinning. "Just...in general. Very good Gryffindor, Frank."

"You were in his year at school," said Neville quietly, gazing up at her, and she looked surprised.

"Yeah I was. Who told you that?"

"My grandmother," answered Neville. "Said there was a rumour you were going out with Sirius Black, too."

"All the things I've done and that still attracts interest," sighed Katherine, looking skywards. "Haven't the faintest idea why." She shrugged and moved back to the bed she'd been standing by earlier.

"Is it true?" Katherine turned her head, cocking one eyebrow at him.

"What's it to you?"

"Nothing, I just- He fought for us, that's all," said Neville in a small voice, watching her guardedly.

"Fought for you?" Katherine's eyebrows were drawn together in a frown now, blue eyes curious. "What do you mean 'fought'?"

"He died."

"Yes I know th-" She stopped, blinking. "_I_ know that. How do _you_know that?"

"I saw him," said Neville, shifting uncomfortably under her intense stare.

"You were there?" she asked, sounding a little stunned. "In the Department of Mysteries?"

Neville nodded, and she gazed at him for a long moment before turning away and saying no more. After standing where he was for a good few minutes, he worked up the nerve to walk to the end of the bed she was standing over. The name of the patient was written on the small square of white card on the wall over the bed, but it was hard to make out in this light; he thought it might start with H.

"Do you know her?" he asked, and she glanced up, examining him for a moment before replying.

"Not personally."

"You on a mission?" he asked quickly, before his temporary courage deserted him.

"It's a crusade," she grinned, looking so mischievous for a moment that he had to repress a smile himself. "I'm not going to hurt her."

"Going to heal her?" asked Neville sceptically, and she shrugged.

"Going to try."

Neville stared at her for a moment before deciding she was serious. He looked back at the woman, pale and small under the white sheets and shook his head.

"But she's been in here for years," he said, and it was true. He'd passed her bed hundreds of times when he'd come to visit his parents, though he'd never really paid her much heed; sometimes there were a couple of men with her too – her husband and son he thought he'd heard the healers say. "She's been here longer than-" he hesitated for a second, then ploughed on "-longer than my parents. There's never been any response from her."

"Yes, well, the Healers have regulations to adhere to, don't they?" said Katherine softly, regarding the woman with a thoughtful air. "Not allowed to be very...experimental."

"I won't let you hurt her," said Neville firmly, surprised once more at his own daring, but determined to carry through with his vow nevertheless.

"I told you – I'm not going to," said Katherine gently, turning her head to look at him with those impossibly blue eyes. "If you had the choice, would you want your parents back?"

"What?" he asked, stunned.

"Would you?"

"There's nothing anyone can do for them," he said uncertainly, eyes darting towards the drawn curtains. Katherine's eyes rested on the curtains too, and sighed unhappily.

"No, but there is something I can do for her," she said, gesturing at the sleeping woman before her. "And there are people who want her back, one of whom I am indebted to, so don't you think I rather owe it to said person to at least try? Or do I just leave her like this for the rest of her life and let everyone else get on with living theirs?" The eyebrow was raised again, sapphire eyes boring into him, and Neville swallowed, very much hoping he wasn't going to regret this...

x – X – x

"Do you really think he can do it?" asked Tonks, leaning against the wall of the lift and peering meditatively at the memos fluttering above her head. "I mean Dumbledore-"

"Shh," said Kingsley sharply as the lift stopped and a cool female voice announced: _'Level 6, Department of Magical Transportation, incorporating the Floo Network Authority, Broom Regulatory Control, Portkey Office and Apparation Test Center'_

"It's totally out of the question!" The yell came from a man standing at the end of the corridor and was directed at the blond man now stepping into the lift.

"You've got thirty days to sign, Mr Corbelle," replied the man cheerfully, giving the other man a little wave as the door slid shut once more. "Honestly, people these days," he said softly, grinning to himself.

"Filed another lawsuit?" asked Kingsley, eyeing the newcomer with a guarded expression.

"Divorce case," replied the man, giving him a bright smile. "Best thing is my brother's his boss so he's got to be nice to me." The smile faded a little and light brown eyes considered Kingsley wryly. "But then of course you probably know all about my brother."

"We keep tabs on a lot of people, Avery," answered Kingsley tactfully and the other man grinned ruefully.

"I bet you do." There was a pause as the lift creaked it's way up to Level 2, then the man said softly: "He's not a bad person."

"Not many of them are."

"Got any tabs on me?"

"You can hardly suppose we'd tell you if we did, Christopher," sighed Kingsley as the lift shuddered to a stop and the voice proclaimed: _'Level 2, Department of Magical Law Enforcement, including the Improper Use of Magic Office, Auror Headquarters and Wizengamot Administrations Services'_

"Worth a try," shrugged Christopher, stepping out of the lift and grinning at the two Aurors before heading off to his own department. Tonks exchanged a look with Kingsley, who rolled his eyes heavenward.

"Oh he's not a DE – his brothers on the other hand..." He lifted one shoulder and let it fall as they reached their cubicles. "We know Robert is, and Philip's certainly eager enough."

"Guess we'll find out in a week," said Tonks softly, careful to keep her voice low. Kingsley nodded, dark eyes casting a look around the office.

"Better start preparing," he muttered, pretending to examine a new notice on security measures pinned to the wall, and Tonks grinned.

"Understood," she beamed, turning on her heel and heading towards her own cubicle. Harry had tracked her down that morning at Remus' flat, and told her of his plans, asking for help recruiting trustworthy Aurors and other Order members, all of which she had subsequently relayed to Kingsley. She dropped her bag on the floor by her feet and slumped into her chair, glancing at the pile of paperwork that was mounting up on the desk.

His plan was good, she had to admit.

Very good.

Provided it worked.

She sighed, gaze moving to the picture of Remus and her stuck to the cubicle wall. Oh yes, Harry's plan was good, but it rather relied on a certain person proving trustworthy. She pulled the picture off the wall and looked sternly at her husband, who grinned up at her.

"You better be right about her."

x – X – x

As the Healer led the way up to the fourth floor of Saint Mungos, Toby cast a nervous glance at his father who was striding along beside him, walking cane tapping on the marble floor, a carefully impassive look on his lined face.

The Healers had sent an urgent owl to his father that morning, but it hadn't said much other than that there had been a change in his wife's condition and would he to come to Saint Mungos as soon as possible with his son. This was the reason they were both now trailing after the sharp looking Healer that had greeted them in the entrance hall, wondering what was awaiting them in the ward above.

"Isn't it this way?" asked Toby, when they reached the fourth floor and the Healer strode purposefully towards a corridor on the left. The Healer paused, glancing back, and shook her head.

"We had to move her – she was making such a fuss."

"A fuss?" asked Toby's father blankly, more wrinkles appearing on his forehead as he frowned. "Elspeth was making a fuss?"

The Healer nodded, and motioned towards a door a little way down the corridor. "She's just in here."

Toby exchanged a bewildered look with his father, whose grey eyes looked pained, and willed his feet to move the few steps towards the closed door. He put his hand on the door knob and the Healer gave him an encouraging nod.

Fingers trembling, Toby pushed open the door and peered in. It was a small room with pale pink walls lit by lamps, the only source of light; he supposed windows weren't a good idea on a level where most of the occupants were insane.

He took all of this in within a few seconds and spent the next minute just staring at the hunched figure that sat on the lone bed, long unkempt hair masking her face. The attempt at a greeting died in his throat, one hand gripping the door jamb for support, as the woman on the bed rocked slowly back and forth, breathing shakily.

"Go on – she's been asking for you," said the Healer softly, and he looked at her, a lost expression on his face.

"Asking for me?"

"She wanted to know where Toby was," replied the Healer, smiling sympathetically. "Her son. That is you, isn't it?"

Toby looked back at his mother, unable to move; even if she had finally come out of her twenty four year stupor, he could hardly suppose she would recognise him. Sure he'd visited her, but she'd never really looked at him, and he'd never been entirely convinced that she'd ever heard anything he said.

He tore his gaze away from her and looked down the corridor at his father who hadn't moved since the Healer had announced the move; he looked terrified.

"Dad?" he asked, not sure he could do this on his own.

"Toby?" The shrill voice brought his attention sharply back to the woman in the room. She'd stopped rocking and was looking up at him, face wide eyed and tearstained. "Toby?"

Toby stared at her, into eyes that were the same dark brown as his, and felt something inside him give way as she scrambled off the bed and flung her arms around him, sobbing. _She recognised him. How on earth did she recognise him?_

Behind him, he heard the hurried thump of a cane as his father stumbled forward, grey eyes staring in hopeless disbelief at his wife, hanging from the neck of his son.

"Elspeth?" he breathed, as Toby put a shoulder under his mother's arms to support her weak legs.

"Harry," she whispered, gazing at him through her tears and reaching out a thin arm to touch his face. "You've gotten old." She smiled feebly, allowing Toby to maneuver her back onto the bed. "So have I. And look at you," she continued, gripping Toby's arm with a strength that belied her frail frame. "All grown up."

Toby looked towards the doorway where the Healer still stood, waiting to see if she would be needed. She caught Toby's eye and gave him a small smile.

"I'll be in the office at the end of the corridor," she said with a nod, and Toby turned back to his mother. There were plenty of things he wanted to ask the Healer, but they could wait until later – everything could wait until later – he wasn't going anywhere, not while the mother who'd been lost to him for years was gazing up at him and really _seeing_him, for the first time in his life.

"Toby," she murmured again, brown eyes brimming with tears. "My Toby."

Toby swallowed hard, blinking back tears of his own, while his father gripped the end of the bed and stared in shocked disbelief at his wife.

"Hello Mum."

x – X – x

Things are never perfect, of course.

When Toby got home that night there was a Howler from his boss demanding to know why he hadn't turned up to work and Adrian, his flatmate, was cooking up something dubious in the kitchen.

Adrian stuck his head into the hall as the dying strains of the Howler faded and grinned.

"Where you been?"

"Saint Mungos," answered Toby faintly, tossing his cloak over a chair.

"Oh," frowned Adrian, giving him a searching look. "You all right?"

"I'm fine," said Toby, waving a careless hand. "Wasn't for me."

"Your mum?" asked Adrian, looking sympathetic. He and Adrian had become friends in their fourth year at Hogwarts, and he'd found out about his mother a few years later.

"She's fine," said Toby, sinking into a chair at the kitchen table, still trying to make sense of it all.

"So why'd you go?" questioned Adrian, stirring what Toby guessed was meant to be curry in the pot on the stove.

"Because she's fine," said Toby, and Adrian glanced around at him, a puzzled look on his face. "She's fine. She's better. She knows who I am."

"What?" Adrian's tone was shocked, and he stared at his friend with wide brown eyes, hand frozen in the act of lifting the wooden spoon to taste the curry. "She's-?"

"Conscious," nodded Toby. "Bit hazy, and the Healers say it'll be weeks before she's properly rehabilitated, maybe months before she can be left on her own, but-" He trailed off, shrugging. "She's...there. Not just a shell."

"Are _you_ok?" asked Adrian, turning the heat down and taking the seat opposite him. Toby grinned faintly at him; Adrian might play the fool a lot, but he was surprisingly perceptive sometimes.

"I'm...not sure."

"Still in shock?"

"I just don't think I understand," said Toby slowly. "Or maybe I do, but that would just be-"

"Just be what?"

"Completely ridiculous," said Toby softly. "I mean, she knew who I was but she didn't know Dad had aged... But then of course, she's never seen Dad..."

"Er, she did marry him, Toby," said Adrian, treating him to a peculiar look and laughing nervously.

"What?" asked Toby, snapping out of his musings. "Oh. Yes. She did."

"Want some curry?" asked Adrian, gesturing towards the pungent smell on the stove and Toby shrugged.

"Sure, why not? The Healers could probably get me a bed next to Mum."

Adrian grinned, letting the slight on his culinary skills slide and pushing himself out of his seat to get two plates out of the cupboard, as Toby slipped off into thoughts occupied by sapphire blue eyes and a wicked smile.

_' You won't come after me.'_

'Why not? I said we were even; I don't owe you anything.'

'You do owe me. You value your sanity more than my life, so the odds are still tipped in my favour. I saved your life – you just let me live. They're not the same thing.'

'And how do you suppose we remedy this imbalance? According to you, I am still in your debt...'

She wouldn't have.

Would she?

**x – X – x**

Reviews feed my imagination…


	57. Devilish streak

**A/N:** Just a quick reminder that this story is being put on hold as of the end of this chapter. It's a good place to halt, and rest assured, the story will be finished. Just not for a while.

I'd also like to say thank you to Slythy & Nys who beta-ed this chapter for me. It is greatly appreciated.

And now, on with the story, and what has got to be my favourite chapter to date. It's been a long time coming...

**_For Slythy & Remquo  
who spotted this long before I did_**

**Chapter 55 – Devilish Streak**

Severus Snape peered at the black text of the book he was reading and scowled. The tome claimed to give a detailed account of the various effects of Murgrass on the human body, and so far it was doing a worse job than most of his fifth years had managed.

He sank back into the dark leather of the seat and looked up at the ornate ceiling. He'd taken refuge here after Nicola had brought a very enthusiastic companion home after work, and had planned to catch up on some reading. He sighed, tossing the book on the table and gazing idly at the dusty gold leaf above him.

Anything to distract him from the fact that Katherine had been missing for a week now, and no one had seen hide nor hair of her. Robert was getting jumpy, and Severus got the impression that something big was going to happen soon; Katherine hadn't told him how many horcruxes they'd managed to destroy yet. One? Two? Six?

A soft tap on the door made him leap to his feet, wand in hand.

"Who's there?" he demanded, dark eyes suspicious. He'd chosen this hideout because it was rarely used anymore and very few people knew about it; just his luck that someone had decided to investigate it tonight.

The door was pushed open and lamplight fell on glossy dark hair and a surprisingly tanned face.

"Evening Sev."

"Katherine?" asked Severus, lowering his wand to stare at her. She was leaning against the door jamb, wearing a white shirt, faded jeans and a very familiar grin. "Where the hell have you been?" he demanded, trying to glare at her, and failing miserably under the blue eyed gaze.

"Australia," she answered, and he heard the faint twang of an accent as her grin widened, blue eyes positively impish.

"Robert's been going frantic."

"I know - I went to see him an hour ago. He's fine now."

"You disappear to another continent for a week, then you get back and go and see Robert," sighed Severus, sinking back into his chair. "Should I be offended?"

"I had to see him about something," she said calmly, still eyeing him with that strange look in her eyes. "I knew it wouldn't take long, and I wasn't intending on leaving once I got here, so..." She shrugged, as though that explained everything, and smiled again. "Did he tell you?"

"Robert? He hasn't said anything. Why? What's going on?"

"War's ending tomorrow," said Katherine, and Severus suddenly understood his friend's panic.

"He didn't seriously think you'd run off, did he?" he asked incredulously, smirking.

"Think he thought Tom had found out, actually," answered Katherine, smiling faintly.

"He'll find out tomorrow," said Severus quietly, gazing at her with intent dark eyes.

"Yes," she agreed, meeting his gaze and Severus had the sudden urge to say something stupid like: _'Don't fight'_ or _'Run now, while you've got the chance'_. It wouldn't do any good, he knew, but it didn't stop him wanting to, didn't stop him hoping she'd listen, didn't stop him wishing that what she said next wasn't true. "My last night."

"And you're here," said Severus, finding it suddenly difficult to look her in the eye.

"Everyone always says you should spend your last hours with the people you love," Katherine said softly, and Severus' gaze snapped back to hers. "You may notice I'm not with Remus."

Severus stared at her, outright shock on his face, and something in that sentence clicked into place. "You've been talking to Nicola."

"She did mention something, yes," said Katherine, a slight grin on her face. "And you were right; when it comes down to it, I really do only care about one person."

"You do?" asked Severus faintly, wondering where his ability to form coherent sentences had wandered off to.

"I do," agreed Katherine, blue eyes gleaming playfully. "And it's not Sirius Black."

"No?"

"No. He was lovely and everything, but..." She shrugged, the movement making her dark hair shimmer in the low light. "It's not him. And it's not Remus Lupin, either, so you _were_ wrong there."

"Leon Wilkes?" tried Severus, raising his eyebrows in mock seriousness and Katherine laughed darkly.

"Ah, sweet Leo. Best mistake I ever made." She smiled, detaching herself from the door frame and coming to sit on the table before him. "But somehow I think the fact that I murdered him kinda crosses him off the list too."

"So that _was_ deliberate," smiled Severus, leaning forward a little in his chair. "I did wonder."

"'Course it was," grinned Katherine, sapphire eyes glittering. "He was nasty to me. I could hardly let him get away with it, could I?"

"I suppose not. You never could let things be," said Severus, swallowing hard and thinking absently that he couldn't tear his gaze away from those mesmerizing sapphire eyes, even if he'd wanted to.

"Never give up," said Katherine softly. "My new motto."

"What happened to 'we who are about to die don't want to'?" asked Severus, arching an eyebrow and trying to regain some of his self control.

"Tied up all my loose ends," answered Katherine, bending forward, a wicked grin on her face. "Save for one."

Severus stared at her, into eyes the colour of sapphires, and over the thumping of his own heartbeat he heard himself whisper three words he'd never thought he would say to anyone.

"I love you."

Katherine's eyes glimmered with amusement, lips quirking into a delighted grin, their faces inches apart.

"Damn right you do," she whispered softly, and kissed him.

x - X - x

Severus opened his eyes and stared up at the unfamiliar ceiling as the events of the previous night came back to him. He frowned and sat up, looking around the room. Had that really happened or was it just his over reactive imagination?

Severus stopped, shaking his head. Since when had he had an over reactive imagination?

The door swung open and Katherine appeared, wearing the white shirt she'd had on yesterday and twirling the serpent necklace he'd given her in their seventh year around in her fingers.

"'Morning," he said quietly, and she glanced over at him and grinned.

"You're awake."

"I am. What happened to wanting to be around me?"

"I needed the toilet," answered Katherine with an impish grin, climbing on top of the bed and kissing him. "And I am quite capable of making that trip unaccompanied."

"How long do we have?" asked Severus, thinking of the plan she'd told him late last night. She sighed, lying down next to him and resting her head on his chest.

"Four or five hours. Told Potter to yell when he requires our presence."

"Went to see him, too, did you?" asked Severus, smirking as she rolled over and gazed up at him, a supremely innocent expression on her face.

"Save the best till last," she assured him, reaching out a hand to ruffle his hair. "I think I like it short, you know. It's even relatively clean," she added, a mischievous grin curling her lips.

"I washed it yesterday," said Severus, giving her a mock glare. "I do wash it, you know, despite what certain-"

Katherine put a finger over his lips and grinned. "No dwelling on the past," she chided, blue eyes glimmering wickedly. Severus pulled her finger away and frowned, rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand.

"Does that include telling me what in the world you were up to in Australia?"

"Hunting," replied Katherine cryptically, leaning back into the pillow and grinning up at the ceiling.

"For what?"

"Arcadia Belle."

"Arcadia- Your mother?" asked Severus, sitting up and staring at her. "I thought you said she was dead?"

"Tom said she was dead," answered Katherine, shifting to get comfortable and then looking up at him with clear sapphire eyes. "Kelly said she was dead too, but they were both lying, and Kel owned up in the end." She smirked, biting her lip. "You're not allowed to hate Potter anymore."

"Because he's going to end the war?"

"No, because he told me where Cady was."

"Cady?"

"My mother - short for Arcadia." She frowned, twisting the necklace around her fingers once more. "Don't think I'm quite ready to call her Mum. Won't ever be ready now."

Severus couldn't think of anything to say to this; denial of the fact would sound insincere, and accepting their fate would ruin the few hours they had left, so he remained quiet for a while, enjoying the peace of the early morning and Katherine's presence beside him.

"What's she like?" he asked eventually, twirling a lock of her soft black hair around his finger. Katherine smiled, her expression a little wistful.

"Not Tom."

Severus smiled, because she wasn't being flippant or brusque, she was being honest; to Katherine, her mother being nothing like her father was the best thing about her.

"Potter told you where she was?"

"Kel left the address with him. I guess he figured we were bound to run into each other sooner or later," answered Katherine, shrugging.

"And you waited till now to check it out?"

"I didn't get the address till last week," said Katherine, grinning at him. "You really think I've got enough self control to stop myself searching for her if I'd had the address earlier?"

"Kelly Hunt died last August, Katherine."

"Which just goes to show that Potter is smarter than you lot and has actually listened when I've told him not to trust me," said Katherine blithely, and Severus scoffed.

"Potter is not smart, Katherine."

"He's not James, either."

Severus glanced at her, saw the very slight look of reproach in her dark eyes and chose to ignore it, opting to change the subject instead.

"How did you find her?"

"Cady?"

"Yes."

"Unintentionally," frowned Katherine, but there was a wry smile on her lips and Severus put an arm around her and pulled her close, breathing in her musky scent.

"Tell me."

x - X - x

**Jericho, Australia - Eight days previously**

Callum Jones turned the page of the newspaper and sighed. More bad news from England; it never seemed to stop nowadays, and he was willing to bet things were much worse than The Prophet was permitted to print. He glanced up at the clock on the wall and flicked his wand at the kettle, which obediently started to boil.

It was just as he turned back to the open paper that the clock flashed green. He froze, staring at the emerald glow for a few horrified seconds, then leapt out of his chair so fast that it tipped over and hit the stone tiled floor with a crash.

_"Jude!"_

There was no answer.

No sound at all.

Heart in his throat, he made for the stairs, and that was when he caught sight of the note stuck innocently to the mirror.

_Gone to visit Maddie. Back in ten minutes._

Jude

He snatched it up, crumpling it in his fist as he headed for the front door and hesitating for a second before deciding that keeping his wand out was a necessary risk. He had to find his son, had to warn his wife, had to get away.

He hauled open the front door and looked out, coming face to face with a pair of very familiar sapphire eyes and an equally unfamiliar woman, who seemed just as surprised to see him as he was to see her. She stared at him for a long moment, the blue eyes he knew so well wide in something like fear, and then footsteps sounded across the street, and Callum saw his son walking towards them, hands in his pocket, rusty brown hair falling into his eyes.

The woman looked around too as Jude cross the road and glanced at her, seeming a little confused.

"G'day," he said uncertainly. "Can we hel-" He stopped, brushing the hair out of his bright blue eyes and staring at the stranger with unabashed shock. "Who the _hell_ are you?"

He looked at his father, eyebrows raised in inquiry and Callum had just opened his mouth to say something when the woman bolted, taking off down the street as fast as she could.

"Wait!" yelled Callum, and glanced at Jude who was eyeing the wand in his hand tentatively.

"Uh Dad, what are you doing? You know we're not supposed to use magic in front of muggles."

"She wasn't a muggle," muttered Callum, casting an eye around the street restlessly. "Look - go inside and lock yourself in your room and for heavens sake keep your wand on you."

"What?"

"Just do it," demanded Callum, starting off in the direction the woman had run. "_Now_, Jude."

"But Dad-"

Callum left his son's protests behind and caught up with the woman a few yards along the next street. She hadn't gone far, despite her desperate flight, and was leaning against the side wall of a house, eyes closed, face turned upwards, basking in the heat of the morning sun.

"What happened to Hunt?" he asked quietly, coming to stand in front of her. One brilliant blue eye opened and gazed at him with a guarded look before she answered.

"He was murdered." The other eye opened, and she considered him critically. "How did you know I was there?"

"Who said I did?"

"You usually leave your house armed?" she questioned, arching an eyebrow in an expression so reminiscent of his wife it made him smile.

"Hunt installed an alarm; lets us know if there are Death Eaters about. The darker the hue, the more there are," said Callum carefully, eyeing the wand held casually in her hand nervously. If he let her get away, Cady would never forgive him. "Come back to the house."

"What?" She seemed genuinely surprised, and he thought that if she hadn't already had her back against a wall, she would have backed away.

"The house," repeated Callum, grey eyes calm. "Come back."

The woman tilted her head to one side, eyeing him with not undue scepticism. "Let me get this straight: you've just established I'm a Death Eater, and now you're inviting me back to your house. Is it just me, or is your logic a little bit faulty there?"

Footsteps clattered round the corner, and turning Callum saw his wife, her short hair falling about a face that was so like the one before him it was disturbing.

"Jude said-" she began, then her eyes fell on the woman and the breath caught in her throat as she stared.

"Mum, what's going on?" demanded Jude, appearing by her side, the sunshine highlighting the reddish tint to his hair. He followed her stunned gaze, finding the mysterious woman once more, and frowned uneasily. "Mum?"

Callum looked from his son to the woman who bore such a striking resemblance to his wife, and saw with a flicker of unease that her eyes had narrowed, some emotion he couldn't quite make out hidden in their depths. What if she wasn't who he thought she was? Or what if she was and it didn't mean anything to her?

And then her gaze slid from Cady to Jude and she smiled sourly. "Not so very unlike your brother after all," she murmured, eyes on Cady again. Callum saw his wife raise her eyebrows at this, moving forward slightly.

"You've met Thomas?" she asked, and Callum heard the fear in her voice. "Look, whatever he said, it wasn't true."

"That wasn't what I was referring to," said the woman quietly, blue eyes settling on Jude, who was studying her from a distance, looking severely uncomfortable. Cady frowned, fine eyebrows drawing together in confusion.

"Faye?" she asked slowly, sapphire eyes dark with thought, and Katherine smiled bitterly.

"Secrets and lies," she muttered, though Callum noticed that she didn't look away; he didn't think she could. "Should have expected as much."

"No, it's not like that," said Cady quickly, taking a few more steps towards her, hands reached out in supplication. "I thought you were dead – the papers said you died, Kelly said you'd died. I'm not ashamed, I would have told him, but-"

"You're still a Slytherin."

Cady blanched, lowering her hands, and gazing at her with an expression that tried and failed to hide her hurt. "So are you."

"I'm not trying to pretend I'm not."

Cady was quite for a moment, then asked softly: "What's Tom told you about me?"

"That you were dead," said Katherine quietly. "That was pretty much it. Your brother, on the other hand, was only too happy to fill me in."

"I told you, don't believe anything Thomas said," said Cady fiercely. "He is-"

"Was."

"What?"

"He's dead." There was a slight pause before Katherine added with a slight reluctance: "Natural causes."

"How do you know?" asked Cady warily, and Katherine smiled grimly.

"Faye told me."

"You know Faye?" Cady's voice was laden with breathless hope and Katherine nodded. "Is she-?"

"She's fine."

"And you?"

"Dead. Like you said," replied Katherine, averting her gaze from Cady's face and looking at the ground.

"No you're not," whispered Cady, but the flicker in her eyes belied her anxiety. "You're not."

"I will be."

"No," said Cady, scowling now. "No, I won't let him take you away from me again. I'll hide you, I can help-"

"Oh yeah," Katherine muttered, looking back up at her and smiling mirthlessly. "You're good at helping out Death Eaters, aren't you?"

"Who?" asked Cady carefully, a genuinely puzzled look on her face as she tried to work out what she meant. This did not appear to be the right question, because Katherine arched an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed.

"There's a list to choose from?" she asked, but shook her head before Cady could say anything more. "I was referring to Murphy."

"Theo? Wait, you mean that stuff in Bulgaria? I couldn't help that – he would have told Tom I was still alive if I hadn't helped him – would have used the information to bargain his way out of Azkaban." Cady looked hard at her, at the daughter she'd thought she'd lost long ago and willed her to believe her story, unable to do anything more than hope that she would.

"Why were you there at all?" asked Katherine, shifting uncomfortably, as though she half wanted to believe her but couldn't.

"There were a couple of students transferring from Durmstrang and I had to sort out the paperwork," said Cady, shrugging helplessly. "Look, I know it sounds-"

"Who?"

"What?"

"The students. What were their names?" demanded Katherine, no longer lounging against the wall, but upright and alert.

"I…can't remember exactly, it was ages ago. Something Scottish, I think. McDonald? McKegan?" Her expression cleared, and she shook her head. "No, _McKenzie_, that was it. They were twins."

"Alex and Jamie?" Katherine asked, eyes eager.

"You know them?" asked Cady in surprise, and Katherine nodded, wrapping her arms around herself, self-conscious once more. Cady vaguely noticed Callum move towards Jude, and say something quietly to him, but the majority of her attention was fixed on the woman before her, who was still gazing at her with that peculiar expression on her face, and Cady suddenly realised what it was. Fear.

For all her bravado and accusations, Katherine was absolutely terrified.

Now that Cady stopped to think about it, so was she.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, eyes suddenly filling with tears that she couldn't hold back, because even though the fierce sapphire eyes watching her were identical to her own, she could see traces of Tom in the fine cheekbones and pale complexion. How much more had she inherited from her father? How much nonsense had he managed to fill her head with over the past forty years?

"Sorry?"

"I should have been there," said Cady hoarsely, swallowing hard. "I should have protected you, I should have…" She trailed off, speech failing her and shrugged helplessly. "I thought I was acting for the best."

Katherine studied her with intent blue eyes, eyebrows drawn together in a frown that didn't seem angry but more…curious?

"But you did," she said at last, tilting her head slightly to one side, the frown remaining on her face.

"I know," agreed Cady quietly, wondering if she would ever be forgiven for abandoning her daughter, but Katherine was shaking her head, a slightly impatient look on her face.

"No, I mean you did what was best." She smiled faintly at Cady's confused expression and gave a one shouldered shrug. "Letting me go gave me sixteen years of a normal happy life. That's the best gift anyone's ever given me."

"You're serious?" asked Cady, staring at her, and Katherine grinned a little.

"Yeah."

"You're not angry?"

"Angry? At leaving me with two of the most wonderful people I've ever met? 'Course I'm not; that'd be stupid."

"But then why-" Cady began, and hesitated, thinking. She'd been about to ask why she'd run off if she wasn't angry, but given what she knew of her errant daughter from Kelly's letters, that perhaps wasn't the best idea. Would she admit to being scared in front of three people who were essentially complete strangers to her? "Why are you here?" she asked quietly, trying a different approach.

Blue eyes considered her for a long moment, then Katherine ran a hand through her hair and shrugged helplessly. "I wanted to see if you were still around."

"So you take off before you find out?" asked Cady, raising an eyebrow, and receiving a scowl for it.

"I didn't have to meet you to know you were alive," said Katherine archly. "Your son's not very good at Occlumency."

"Is my daughter?" Cady didn't know what prompted her to say it, and apparently neither did Katherine, because she looked slightly taken aback. _There, you've done it, you've said the dreaded D word. It's up to her now._

"She's very good at lots of things," murmured Katherine eventually, holding her gaze with wary eyes. "Staying alive, mostly."

"But not family reunions?" asked Cady, keeping her tone light with a fair amount of effort, and Katherine smiled sourly, tilting her head forward slightly so that her eyes fell into shadow.

"The last two didn't go so well."

Cady winced; she'd walked right into that one. She could only imagine what Katherine's first meeting with her father had been like, and she knew her brother too well to suppose that any encounter with him would have been much better.

"I'm not like Tom," she said gently, gazing earnestly at Katherine. "I wasn't into all that stuff he came out with, and I certainly didn't agree with some of his methods, but I didn't realise just how serious he was about it until it was too late."

"Sounds familiar," muttered Katherine, looking down with a bitter smile, twisting the silver band on her finger absently. "Can't see past the charm."

A gleam of blue caught Cady's eye and she glanced at the ring on her daughter's finger, at the glittering sapphires studded around it.

"You kept it," she said softly, and Katherine looked up, momentarily startled.

"What?"

"My ring." Cady stared at her, into eyes that were both familiar and alien at the same time and felt her own eyes begin to fill. "My Kate."

"Kate?" Katherine's gaze was questioning, but not annoyed.

"Sorry, everyone calls you Katherine, don't they?"

"Usually, or Kat for short," said Katherine quietly, smiling a little. "Kitten if you have death wish."

Cady laughed, and Katherine grinned too, surprising Cady with the difference it made to her face; suddenly she didn't look so very like Cady anymore, and the traces of Tom vanished completely, drowned out by the impish gleam in her eyes and a broad smile that had never graced his face, and through the mists of time Kelly's smooth voice piped up in the back of her mind, laced with humour as he answered her demand to tell her more about her absent daughter.

_'She's very like you, and she's very like Tom, which makes her, of course, completely unlike anyone else I've ever met…'_

Looking at her daughter now, standing before her in the sunshine, she finally got what he'd meant.

"So what should I call you?" she asked quietly, and Katherine's fiendish grin faded as she thought about it.

"Kate's fine," she said after a while, and smiled a little in response to Cady's beaming face.

"Kate it is, then," agreed Cady, holding out her hand once more, and this time, Katherine took it.

x - X - x

"So?" asked Severus, as Katherine stopped talking, gazing into middle distance with a melancholy air. She shrugged, twining a strand of hair round her finger.

"So I stayed. We talked. It was good."

"Why did you run?"

"Scared," murmured Katherine, burying her face in his chest. "I only meant to check - to see if she was still alive, and all of a sudden there's this kid looking up at me with her eyes - my eyes - and…I panicked. She obviously was still there, had a family, a son, and then her husband came out and I bolted because I didn't want to meet her."

"But you're happy you have," pointed out Severus, and Katherine shrugged, raising her head to gaze at him.

"I guess so. I didn't want to meet her because if I did, I thought maybe I wouldn't want to come back," she admitted quietly. "Or maybe she wouldn't live up to my expectations, or I wouldn't live up to hers, but it was...strange. A little awkward, but, ok, you know?" She gave him a half grin and settled back beside him. "And I've got a little brother. Half brother, admittedly, but a blood relation all the same."

"How did he take the news?"

"That his big sister's the spawn of Satan?"

"Among other things," agreed Severus, grinning at her, and she laughed.

"Pretty well, actually. I think he thinks it's quite cool to be related to a convicted criminal."

"Definitely your brother, then," said Severus firmly, and received a sharp poke for his troubles. He grabbed her hands to prevent further injury and propped himself up on one elbow, looking seriously at her. "Would you really have stayed there? If she'd asked you to?"

"She did ask," said Katherine quietly, chewing her lip distractedly.

"But you came back anyway?"

"Had to."

"Because of Potter's plan?" he asked, and she smiled, and shook her head.

"No, he could have coped without me if he'd had to."

"So why, then?"

"Because she was so happy," said Katherine, leaning back into her pillow and gazing up at the ceiling above them. "She really loves Callum, and he loves her - I mean, she was straight up with him about Tom and everything before they got involved, and...he didn't care. He loved her just as she was. And, well, I got to thinking that...I've been an idiot." She gave him a rueful smile, tracing a finger across his jaw line and sighing softly. "'Cause I've had the chance for that kind of relationship for the past twenty years and I've never done a thing about it, because there was always some sort of excuse - I didn't want you getting hurt, I didn't want to ruin our friendship - and then there was Sirius, who I never intended to fall for, but..." She trailed off, shrugging helplessly. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" he asked, gazing at her, surprised to find that the mention of Black wasn't conjuring up the usual feeling of anger and bitter resentment.

"Hurting you. You see, I thought I was keeping you safe, that maybe things turned out for the best, but..."

"But?" prompted Severus, raising an eyebrow as she gazed into middle distance, a pensive expression on her face.

"But I still loved you. And I would have dropped him in an instant if you'd ever told me that you loved me too. 'Course, that may not have lasted very long, 'cause Remus would have murdered me, but...well, you would have been worth it." She smiled wryly, kissing him softly, and adding: "You _are_ worth it. You're what I came back for, and I don't care what happens later, because I got to tell you that, and right now I'm the happiest I've ever been in my entire life. I love you, Severus Snape."

Severus smiled, pressing his lips to hers once more, and reminding himself this was real. Two decades of forlorn hope, of watching from the sidelines while someone else held her or the newspaper headlines delighted in her misfortunes. Two decades of anger and loneliness culminating in this moment, a few stolen hours while their borrowed time ticked away.

It wasn't fair, but he'd never thought life was, so he didn't dwell on it.

"I love you, Katherine," he whispered, not feeling stupid or soppy at all. It was a fact and there wasn't anything he could do about it, and that wasn't through lack of trying.

"Past death, till the end of days," cited Katherine, smiling faintly at his bemused look. "It was a line in some ancient Prophecy," she explained, settling down next to him. "Only it was talking about loathing. _'And yea they shall despise one another forevermore, through earth and water, wind and flame, past death, till the end of days'_."

"Seriously?"

She grinned. "I may have embellished on the 'yea' bit."

"Who was it referring to?"

"No idea. Could apply to just about anyone."

"Sounds a bit like you and Evan," remarked Severus, face carefully placid, and Katherine hit him round the head.

"Ha ha," she said dryly, but she was grinning all the same, and a voice from so long ago sounded in Severus' head - Katherine's, yelling at him for not telling her he was signing up, saying caustically that at least Black made her laugh. He looked down at her, at the brilliant eyes that gazed up into his dark ones, and smiled.

She'd never said Black made her happy.

x - X - x

Reviews will make my Christmas. :)


	58. Famous last stands

A/N: Yes, it has been an appallingly long time since I last posted

**A/N:** Yes, it has been an appallingly long time since I last posted. No, I cannot unfortunately promise that it won't happen again. Yes, I will shut up so you can get on with reading the chapter, but I have to first say an enormous thank you to Slythy who beta-ed this chapter, and to you all for bearing with me for so long. :)

**Chapter 56 – Famous last stands**

Cold scarlet eyes thinned to slits as they focused on the cloaked figure in the centre of the circle. The late afternoon sunshine cast the face behind the low hood into shadow, but he didn't need a face to know who it was; there was only one person in the world with enough audacity to pull a stunt like this, and he should have disposed of her years ago.

"You called?" he asked icily, impatience hissing in his voice.

One hand rose to pull the hood back and the golden light of the falling sun illuminated Katherine's grinning features.

"I brought you a friend," said Katherine mildly, and though her tone was pleasant enough, there was a dangerous gleam lurking in the depths of her eyes.

"A friend?" asked Voldemort softly, his own blood red eyes watching his errant daughter cautiously. Yes, he should have had her killed before now - she was far too loose a cannon to be trusted. "And where exactly would this supposed friend be?"

Katherine smiled, and lowered her gaze, fingers clenching into a fist, and for a moment Voldemort thought she was steeling herself for a fight, but her curious actions were explained a second later as a silvery material appeared in her hand. It was an invisibility cloak, and beneath it…

Voldemort looked back up at his daughter, meeting the challenge in her gaze and smiling cruelly: maybe it hadn't been such a big mistake to keep her alive, after all.

"A friend?" he asked again, though there was amusement in his high voice now. On the grassy ground at his feet, the black haired boy struggled with the bonds that held him, trying to yell through the thick wad of cloth that gagged him.

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord," said Katherine quietly, her soft words carrying easily on the still evening air. "But not his daughter, it seems." She gave him a bright little smile as he frowned, and continued smoothly: "I caught him trying to break into Anguis House."

"And he's still breathing?" questioned Voldemort, though the flicker of suspicion that lingered somewhere deep inside him was being rapidly drowned out by excitement. After all this time, all the failed plans, he had Potter in front of him, and not only that, the boy was completely helpless.

"You wanted him alive." Katherine's answer to what he had meant as a throw away comment broke into his thoughts and he looked up to see her sapphire eyes strangely dark. "I can't kill him anyway."

"No?" asked Voldemort, a slight frown marring his brow; there was something unnerving about the surety in that statement.

"No, just like I can't kill you, and that's hardly through lack of trying."

Usually Voldemort might have let a remark such as this go unheeded; what was a little insolence when she could pull off feats such as the capture of Harry Potter, something none of his disciples since Crouch had come even close to? But this time Katherine wasn't smiling, and there wasn't even a trace of humour in those dark eyes. It was then that he realised exactly what that strange emotion in his daughter's features was: hatred. Pure, unadulterated malice, all of it directed at him.

Which made the fact that she'd brought him Potter somewhat odd.

His gaze flickered uncertainly to the bound teenager, but he seemed secure enough, and it there was no doubt it was him.

"What's going on?" he asked levelly, as the tiny flame of doubt grew and flickered anew.

"Nothing's going on," said Katherine, smiling serenely. "Just fulfilling the Prophecy. It's about time someone did something about it, don't you think? I mean, it's been seventeen years, and it's still hanging over us."

"Fulfilling the Prophecy?" repeated Voldemort, an unfamiliar sensation curdling somewhere in the deep recesses of what remained of his soul. Fear.

"Yeah, the Prophecy," agreed Katherine brightly. "You know the one. _'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…'_" She trailed off, a real grin curling her lips now, the antipathy in her eyes making it far more disconcerting than a mere smile had any right to be. "That Prophecy."

"You're fulfilling it?" asked Voldemort coldly, snake like eyes narrowing even further. "A Prophecy that no living man has ever heard in full?"

Katherine smiled, head tilted very slightly to one side. "Ah, but I'm not a man, am I, father?"

"Don't play games with me, Katherine," warned Voldemort, raising his wand and pointing it straight at her heart, but she only laughed.

"Am I irritating you?" she questioned, grinning delightedly. "I must be irritating you. You only use my name like that when you're annoyed."

Voldemort shot a curse at her, which she ducked, giving him a reproachful look.

"No need to resort to violence. And you're wrong, by the way – Potter's already heard the Prophecy from our dearly departed headmaster, so really you're the only one who's still in the dark."

"You got it out of him?" asked Voldemort, red eyes gleaming with anticipation, and Katherine laughed, shaking her head.

"Out of Potter?" She grinned, tilting her head to one side again and surveying him with something akin to amusement. "Now why on earth would I need to do that?"

Voldemort stared at her, at her belligerent expression and sour smile, and the truth dawned on him like poison spreading through his veins. "You already knew." The words were barely above a whisper, but Katherine heard, a low chuckle resounding in her throat.

"Don't feel bad, dad. I mean, I didn't know about it for a whole two days after it was made. It's really not your fault it's now two decades later and you still don't see how stupid you've been." She hesitated, chewing her lip and looking thoughtful. "Oh no, wait, that's wrong, isn't it? It _is_ your fault. Fools rush in, and all that."

"What are you talking about?" hissed Voldemort, forgetting all about Potter for the present, his entire being focused solely on the grinning witch before him.

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches," said Katherine slowly, a dark light dancing in eyes that would forever remind him of her insipid mother. "Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies…" She paused, listening to the hush of a clearing full of people holding their breath, then continued deliberately: "…and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, _but he will have the power the Dark Lord knows not-_" Katherine raised her voice to be heard over the sudden rush of murmurings and gasps that erupted at her words, her gaze never once leaving the pair of scarlet eyes before her. "_-and either must die at the hand of the other, for neither can live while the other survives. The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies._"

Over the shouts and yells from the surrounding ring of Death Eaters, Voldemort heard her voice again, low but unmistakable.

"Never bothered to ask where I worked, did you, Tom? Shame. It might have saved you."

"Saved me?" he asked blankly, as wands appeared in hands all around, directed straight at Katherine, waiting only for the word of command.

"Didn't I mention?" asked Katherine, face set in an expression of wide eyed innocence. "Potter brought some friends too." She smiled again, gesturing around the circle with a careless hand.

"Potter is friends with Death Eaters?" Voldemort asked, seething with rage, but not too incensed to ignore the nonchalant stance of his only child.

"Potter is friends with the people surrounding them," answered a different voice, and Voldemort looked down sharply to meet the gaze of a pair of fierce bottle green eyes glaring up at him. So much for being tied up.

"_Traitor!"_ The scream came from one of the hooded figures, and a jet of green light flew from the tip of a wand, directed straight at Katherine, who didn't quite raise her own wand in time, and actually looked rather bemused when the curse bounced harmlessly away, unable to penetrate the barrier generated by the seven separate shield charms cast to protect her.

"Apparently I'm not the only one with friends," murmured Harry, sparing her half a smile, his own wand directed at Voldemort.

"Not the only one with a score to settle, either," Katherine replied, a truly evil grin curling her lips as she turned towards her would-be murderer. "I'm going to _enjoy_ this."

x - X - x

Next to him, Remus could hear Tonks' gasp of surprise as Katherine started spouting out the forgotten Prophecy, and her grip on his hand increased. He squeezed back in what he hoped was a reassuring manner and concentrated on listening to what was going on in the circle.

He'd been impressed with Harry's choice of battleground – the site of the last Quidditch World Cup. The stadium had of course been removed years ago but it had left behind a large clearing surrounded by trees which made the perfect cover for the ambush they were about to stage. Added to this, the Aurors had set up anti-muggle and anti-disapparating wards for a square mile above the forest, and Katherine was currently maintaining a concealment charm that hid the hundreds of Aurors, Order members and newly recruited fighters from prying eyes.

Just then, Katherine's voice broke into his thoughts once more and he snapped back to attention.

"Didn't I mention?" she was asking, in a voice too full of innocence to be remotely believable. "Potter brought some friends too."

Tonks gave his hand one last squeeze and then Katherine dropped the concealment charm and the white masked figures in the circle saw them for the first time. There was a long moment in which everyone stood immobile, as though uncertain of exactly what to do, and then he heard a voice he recognised all to well yell: "Traitor!" and saw the dreaded killing curse streaking towards Katherine, who couldn't possibly dodge in time-

-but then it bounced away, deflected by the barrage of protective spells that intercepted it, and he smiled a little. Katherine may not have been one of Voldemort's inner circle anymore, but she clearly wasn't without friends. Every single one of those spells had been fired to save her and every one had come from a black robed figure.

Remus saw Katherine turn and look at the woman who was even now raising her wand for another curse and saw her smile; a wide, vicious grin that made her look both more evil and more mischievous than he'd ever seen her before.

And then for a fraction of a second those vivid blue eyes slid sideways and found his, and he looked back grimly, knowing exactly what she thinking.

_This one's for Sirius._

x - X - x

Amidst the confusion of the battle, Robert Avery sought out his old friend, ducking curses and lending an occasional hand to those he saw fit. It wasn't hard to track Katherine down; the furious stream of insults from Bellatrix was clearly audible, even above the noise of the battle.

"-at least _I_ don't try and hit on a certain Dark Lord every time my husband's out of the way."

"You haven't got a husband, Riddle!"

"And whose fault is that?"

Robert dodged the nasty stinging hex that flew over Katherine's right shoulder and watched in satisfaction as his friend's own curse found its target rather better. Bellatrix screamed in fury as the skin on her left arm erupted in scales, and threw a dozen more angry hexes at Katherine which missed, felling two Aurors and an unwary Death Eater in the process.

"Now, now, Trixibell," chided Katherine in a sing song voice, conjuring up a shield charm and shaking her head in mock disappointment. "That wasn't very nice, was it? I could have been seriously hurt." She smiled sweetly at Bella as the two circled each other with practiced ease.

"You will be," snarled Bellatrix, her wild black hair tumbling over her bony shoulders, dark eyes shining with malice. "I'll make you pay, _traitor_."

"Traitor?" Katherine's voice was all innocence, and Robert grinned, casually cursing an approaching Auror and inwardly marvelling at the excellent job Katherine was doing of winding Bella up, but then, he supposed, she had had years to perfect the art. "You're the one that just killed Jugson." Katherine nudged the fallen Death Eater with her foot, the white mask he still wore askew on a face which was contorted with agony.

"Well I'm not the only one who's hit a fellow acquaintance whilst aiming for another, am I, Riddle? Or perhaps I am?" Bellatrix flung another curse at Katherine which she only just ducked in time, and laughed cruelly. "Tell me, Riddle, how many partners did you end up murdering in the end? Thirteen, wasn't it? But oh no, of course I'm forgetting my dear cousin – that makes in fourteen, doesn't it?"

Robert saw Katherine's expression change from mocking insolence to pure anger in an instant, and she was already lunging for Bella before he'd even started to wonder why Bella would accuse Katherine of killing Sirius.

Severus sent another Death Eater sprawling to the floor and looked around for Katherine, dark eyes darting through the mass of people. He knew she was sure she was going to get killed but he was damned if he was going to just stand by and let her die. He caught the hysterical laugh of Bellatrix and turned towards the sound, but paid for the lapse in his concentration when a scorching hex caught him in the shoulder. He directed his wand in the direction of the attacker but hesitated as he recognised the faintly scarred face and light brown eyes.

Remus' face settled into a expression of extreme dislike, and Severus noticed with slight apprehension that he showed no sign of lowering his wand. Over to his right, he heard Bellatrix laugh once more, mad delight in her voice, and made up his mind in an instant.

He threw one of the less malevolent hexes he knew at Remus, who did, after all, experience far greater pain on a monthly basis, and headed in Bella's direction. A few dodged curses later, he found her, lying on the ground with an insanely happy expression on her gaunt face; a rather curious sight, seeing as Katherine was leaning over her, ebony wand resting against her throat.

"Never told them, did you?" Bella was saying in a gleeful voice, choking as Katherine pressed her wand harder into her windpipe. "Been blaming me, haven't you, Junior."

Severus' dark brows drew together, wondering what on earth was going on, and then he caught sight of Robert, mask abandoned, standing nearby.

"You killed him," said Robert quietly, and Katherine's head whipped round, wide eyes alighting on her friend. "You killed him," repeated Robert louder, and Severus saw his hand trembling with barely suppressed rage.

"Rob-" began Katherine, a pleading note in her voice, but Robert had disappeared into the crowd of battling figures and before she could do anything more, Bella had shoved her away, taking advantage of her distraction to reverse their fortunes.

"It's over, Junior," she smirked, pointing her wand at Katherine, who made no move to protect herself, just remained where she'd fallen, half sitting, half lying on the muddy ground, head hanging down so that her dark hair hid her face. "I win."

Bella raised her wand with a flourish and crumpled under the impact of Severus' Crucio, falling to the floor in a writhing heap, but Severus didn't stop to watch, he simply grabbed Katherine's unresisting hand and dragged her forcibly towards the trees.

x - X - x

In amongst the dark branches and soft undergrowth, Severus stopped, letting Katherine sink gently to the floor, back resting against the base of a thick oak tree. Severus stared at her, the feeling of helplessness that had overcome him when he'd found her curled up on Nicola's bathroom floor flooding through his veins and paralysing him-

And then a tear glistened on Katherine's cheek in the dim light and he dropped to his knees, raising her chin with a gentle hand and gazing into the blue eyes he loved so much.

"Why was Robert shouting at you?" he asked quietly, as tears leaked unheeded from unseeing eyes. "Katherine, answer me. Who did you kill?"

Katherine's lips moved, but no sound came out, and when he tried again she just turned her head away, refusing to meet his gaze.

"Kat-"

"He hates me." The words were barely audible, but Severus had been listening hard.

"Robert?" A barely imperceptible nod confirmed his guess. "Why? What did you do?" Slowly, very slowly, Katherine's glistening eyes swivelled to find his and the torment he saw within them made his heart constrict with terror. "Katherine?" he asked again, the hand gripping her shoulder tightening unconsciously. "Talk to me, Kat."

"I killed him," she said in a hollow voice, wide eyes focused on him as if he was the only thing in the world. "He'll never forgive me. He asked, but he'll never understand. No one ever understands. He thinks I'm like Evan. I'm not like Evan – I didn't want to, but he asked, and I had to – I had to-" Katherine's eyes snapped closed, body giving an involuntary shudder as the tears flowed once more from under the tightly shut lids. "I'm not like Evan," she said again, swallowing hard and shaking her head sharply. "I'm not."

"You're nothing like Evan," said Severus softly, stroking her hair gently as his mind raced, desperately trying to ignore the only reasonable solution to the current mystery, searching for something, some_one_, else she could be talking about.

But he couldn't.

It was Regulus. Regulus Black, the only one of their group who'd remained friends with Katherine after they'd left school, the only one who'd seen through her attempt to keep them safe, the only one who'd died.

Severus leant forward, resting his forehead against hers and shutting his eyes tightly as Katherine trembled, her hidden grief pouring out after so many years, and wondered how he could have missed it.

It seemed so obvious in hindsight – the way she'd forgiven him so readily for Dumbledore's death could only have stemmed from knowing first hand what it was like to be in that position, and thinking back he realised that any mention of the youngest Black had always made her withdraw with that faintly empty look in her eyes. If he'd noticed at the time, he'd always put it down to grief for the loss of a friend, but now he knew that that grief had come coupled with guilt.

He wanted to say: _'You could have told me, I would have understood' _but he knew it wouldn't help, and that she couldn't have. She'd been too scared to admit the truth, perhaps even to herself, and since she couldn't change what had happened, she'd just let it lie, let Bella take the blame. What was it she'd said to him the night he found out she knew about Dumbledore?

"_In a __perfect world it wouldn't have come to that, but it did, and there's nothing else you could have done."_

He wondered how many times she'd lain awake in Azkaban telling herself that, trying to believe it, even though the words sounded more and more hollow every time, how many times she'd shut her eyes to block out memories that wouldn't let go, how many times she'd compared herself to Evan, murdering his girlfriend to save his own skin…

Well he could dispel that belief, at least.

He pulled back, hands cupping either side of her face and gazing at her with dark eyes.

"You're not Evan Rosier, Katherine. Look at me, Kat, you're not like him."

Katherine's red rimmed eyes stared into his, and he forced his face to remain neutral, not to let on how much she was scaring him, and then Katherine's expression shifted as the panic gave way to despair, and eyes that had been so overly bright moments ago were suddenly dead and void.

"Then why does he keep haunting me?" It wasn't the words that scared him so much as the completely empty tone of her voice, and something must have shown in his own face because Katherine's crumpled and she choked back a sob. "He won't leave me alone, Sev."

"I know," said Severus quietly, pulling her unresisting frame towards him and holding her tight against his chest. Katherine made a small noise as though to disagree but Severus only buried his face in her shoulder and asked quietly: "Do you think I never regret what happened with Albus?"

He felt the breath catch in her throat and pulled back slightly so that he could see her face. Her eyes were still brimming with tears but he could see a glimmer of her old stubbornness in their depths.

"There was nothing else you could have done."

"I know. Do you really think you had any other option, either?"

The gleam of life faded at his words, and it hit him suddenly just how young she looked, like a lost little child. Eyes that usually seemed old before their time were open wide and anxious, their hue an impossibly bright blue, heightened by her tears, and framed by lashes that glistened with moisture in the dim light.

"I should have tried…" she murmured, turning her face away as a lone tear spilled down cheeks that were already streaked with red tracts.

"If you'd had months, years, even, to think of another way for him, you'd still have reached the same conclusion, Katherine," said Severus, cupping her chin in long fingers and turning her to face him once more. "There was no other way."

"How do you know? You don't know anything about what happened," protested Katherine, but her voice was weak and Severus knew she was praying he had a good argument.

"I know _you_," said Severus, and though his voice was quiet, it was firm. "And if you haven't come up with an alternative after torturing yourself like this for all these years, then there can't have been another option."

Katherine was silent for a long time, staring vacantly at the ground, and though Severus knew it couldn't have been more than half a minute, it felt like hours. At last, however, he heard her murmur something and she looked up, meeting his gaze with a tremulous expression on her face.

"He was my friend."

"I know."

"A little brother, even."

"I know."

"And I killed him."

"Yes."

She was quiet for another moment, then shook her head despairingly. "How can you kill someone you love?"

Severus smiled sadly, catching her hand in his and locking fingers tightly. "By loving them enough to respect their wishes over your own."

Katherine closed her eyes and Severus saw her eyelids trembling as she fought back tears, and then she let out a slow breath and opened her eyes again.

"I miss him."

"Truth be told, so do I," admitted Severus, smiling wryly and giving her hand a small squeeze. "But you did what you had to, and he's at rest now. We got left behind, and we've got to keep fighting. I'm not letting you join him just yet, however determined you are to get killed."

"I don't want to die." Katherine's fingers tightened on his and she took a few shallow breaths. "I don't. Not now, not when I've just found you, but I will and it's not _fair_."

The tears were streaming down her face again, but Severus could see the fierce spirit burning once more in her eyes, and she held her head up, almost glaring at him.

"Do you believe in destiny?"

The question threw him so much he just stared blankly at her for a few seconds, wondering what she was trying to get at.

"Like soul mates?" he ventured, thinking of Nicola's declaration that he and Katherine were born to be together.

"Like destiny," said Katherine, shaking her head. "Fate, determinism, predestination. Destiny."

"Do I believe the future is set in stone, you mean?" asked Severus, frowning a little, worried by the look on her face. He remembered that expression of old; she'd worn it a lot back at school, invariably when she was just about to do something extremely unwise. To be fair, most of the time she'd managed to pull whatever it was off, but when she hadn't…

"I'll die anyway if I don't try." Katherine's soft voice interrupted his thoughts and he started, meeting her gentle gaze and wondering how she always knew exactly what he was thinking. She smiled faintly, placing one warm hand against his cheek, the other still locked securely in his own. "All or nothing, Sev. That's what we're fighting for."

"All or nothing," repeated Severus, leaning forward so that he could feel her breath against his lips.

"All for them, and nothing for us."

Severus pulled away, dark eyes narrowing in confusion at her words, but Katherine only gave him a crooked smile, hand dropping from his face and lying idle in her lap.

"I don't follow you," he said hesitantly and she tilted her head to one side, surveying him with what might have been faint amusement.

"Oh I think you do, you just don't want to admit it. 'Cause it's been like a dream, these past few months, hasn't it? A bit like the old days: fighting and joking, escaping death by a hair's breadth, and we've all gone along with it, even Rob, but really we all know how this is going to end. We're Slytherins, Sev, we don't get sunsets and kisses, we get what we deserve, and can you honestly say you think that's anything other than Azkaban?"

Severus stared at her, sitting back on the damp carpet of dry leaves and trying to ignore the ring of truth that resounded from her words. Katherine saw his expression and grinned again, resting her head against the tree trunk behind her and gazing up into the dark canopy that blotted out the night sky.

"I can't go back there, Sev. I can't escape again." She looked back, blue eyes desolate and fearful. "If I go back I'll die in there, and to be honest I'm running out of lives. Down to my last three."

"Your last what?" Severus gave her a peculiar look, wondering for the hundredth time how crazy she really was.

"Lives." Katherine chuckled dryly, then heaved a sigh and shrugged. "Bad joke. Sorry. It's all Sirius' fault."

"What's Black got to do with it?" asked Severus, scowling deeply now; Sirius Black may have been dead and gone, but he still didn't like the idea of Katherine sharing private jokes with him. Katherine waved a hand vaguely, as though dismissing the matter as trivial and said:

"He said all cat's have nine lives. Ever since then, Remus has been keeping track of all the times I practically get myself killed. I'm on life number six at present, though I'm sure Bella's eager to advance that."

"And you're just going to sit back and let her?" asked Severus, raising his eyebrows and keeping his expression carefully impassive. Katherine looked up at him sharply, blue eyes highly offended, then she caught the amusement lurking in his dark eyes and laughed, lips curling into a vicious grin.

"Let Bella do me in? Please, Sev, I said she wanted to, I never said I'd let her."

Severus returned her grin, pushing back the small voice at the back of his mind that was trying to tell him something. It could wait – Katherine was all that was important now.

"Ready to go back out there?" he asked, offering a hand to help her up. Katherine nodded, then seemed to hesitate. "What is it?"

"Robert – I've got to find him – explain-"

"I'll do it," cut in Severus quickly.

"You think he'll listen?"

"I don't know, but I _do_ think he won't attack me on sight," said Severus softly, pulling Katherine to her feet. "Come on. I believe you've an arch nemesis to bring down."

Katherine laughed softly, rubbing away the last of the salty tears that still clung to her eyelashes, then stood still for a moment, anxious gaze meeting his in the diminishing light, her hand clasping his arm.

"You will find him, won't you, Severus? You'll make him understand? I can't leave it like this between us – I can't have him hate me."

"I said I'd find him, didn't I?" said Severus, gently pulling her hand off his arm and weaving his fingers with hers reassuringly. "Leave it to me." He attempted a smile, though there was no concealing the concern in his eyes and then, with a final brief kiss, he turned away and headed back to the battle.

Katherine stood alone in the darkness for a long minute, fingers hovering just over her lips, where Severus' last kiss still lingered and then she dropped her hand to her side and turned her head to the right, a grim expression on her face.

"All right, you can come out now."

A shadow stirred behind a slender beech tree and the figure of a man in black robes stepped cautiously forward, dry twigs crackling beneath his feet. A light brown wand twitched nervously in the man's right hand, which was held uncertainly before him like a charm to ward off evil.

Katherine's lips curled into a half smile as she watched him, her body gradually relaxing and settling back into it's usual, self assured stance.

"I must admit this is a bit of a surprise," she said quietly, a slight frown marring the smile. "Does Daddy know you're here?"

The man scowled, his wand hand steadying as he drew closer.

"You seem to be the one with all the answers, Katherine," he said darkly, stopping a few metres away from her. "Maybe you can tell me."

**x - X - x**

Ah yes, the cliffie. Chocolate milk and cookies for the first person to review.

Ice cream and sprinkles for anyone who can guess who the mysterious man is…

Hope you liked it. :) New chapter will be up as soon as I can write it…


	59. Dead Weight

**A/N:** Guess what I did today... I wrote you all a new chapter. Originally intended to have more stuff in it, but it's the normal length, and I reckon the other events will be more than sufficient for a chapter on their own.

So yeah, deepest, sincerest, grovelling-at-you-feet apologies for the abysmally long wait I've put you through. I'm been having a lot of problems lately, but suddenly got inspiration today in the form of Fall Out Boy's album Infinity on high, so you really have them to thank for this post.

And now, because I'm sure most of you have skipped this anyway to get to the story, read and enjoy.

**x – X - x**

**Chapter 57 – Dead Weight**

Dark sapphire eyes studied him steadily for a long moment, and then Katherine's lips curled into a wicked grin and she laughed aloud. Toby stared at her, the lightening speed of her change of mood startling him, but not enough to make him lower his wand.

"Maybe I can." She spoke lightly, but the intensity of her gaze banished any thoughts he might have had that she was being flippant. He was quiet, waiting for her to go on, to reel out some careless theory off the top of her head that would turn out to be completely accurate, but she just stood there, watching him in easy silence.

"Well," he asked, gesturing with his free hand for her to speak, but she only shook her head and Toby smiled grimly. "Not going to guess? But then, you don't know a lot about my father, do you? Don't even know what he looks like." He left the statement hanging in the air between them, but Katherine only smiled faintly, tilted her head to one side and asked quietly:

"How's your mother?"

Toby, a terse retort half way to his lips, faltered, and Katherine's gaze dropped to the wand held loosely in her hands, the ghost of a smile still visible on her lips.

"You're a smart kid, Toby. Smart man, I should say." She raised her head, and the gaze that met his was no longer austere or mocking, but calm with maybe just a hint of regret. "Look at you – all grown up and fighting for the greater good, ready to die for the semblance of freedom you've been accustomed to…" She trailed off, and now Toby was sure he could see sorrow in those impossibly blue eyes. "He let you go. Your father, I mean," she added, at Toby's lost look. "You told me he didn't want you becoming an Auror in case you got killed, but now he's got his wife back-"

She stopped, fine black eyebrows drawing together in a sceptical frown. "No, that's not right. He's your father, he wouldn't change his mind; getting his wife back doesn't make you superfluous, not to him. In fact, now that you're a family again, he'd probably want you extra safe to preserve that security." She sighed, giving Toby what he felt was an unnecessarily disappointed look, the kind that used to grace Professor Flitwick's face whenever he'd failed to hand in homework. "Your father knows you're here, doesn't he, Toby, but he's not happy about it. You wanted to be here, you bloody idiot."

"Idiot?" Toby gaped at her, unable to believe what he was hearing. "I'm not the one going on about deserving Azkaban and then not wanting to go there and being destined to die and stuff!"

Katherine frowned again, folding her arms in a self conscious manner. "Exactly how long were you spying on me?"

"I wasn't spying," objected Toby hotly. "I just saw you and Snape go in here and…well, I, I don't know, I just wanted to know what was going on."

"And you don't think listening in on people's _private_ conversations counts as spying? Did your mother never teach you any manners?"

Toby gaped at the sheer nerve of the grinning woman before him, but that only made Katherine laugh, blue eyes sparkling with mirth.

"That's not funny," he said softly, frowning at her, his own dark eyes studying her face quietly. Katherine shrugged, lifting her head and gazing up through the leaves above them at the darkening sky.

"Slytherin, remember. I don't have to be nice." She glanced back down, eyes focusing sharply on his. "Not to you. We're quits now, understand? You got your mother back, and after this battle, when Tom falls and the world is put to rights again, you can be a lovely little happy family, ok?"

"And if the Dark Lord wins?" asked Toby, refusing to back down, even in the face of the ice in her voice.

"He won't. Potter will bring him down."

"You really think so? He's just a kid."

Katherine shrugged again, blue eyes clear. "I trust him."

"And that's supposed to be enough for me?" asked Toby sceptically, scowling at her.

"You think I care if you believe he'll win?" asked Katherine, something like an incredulous grin gracing her face. "Why on earth should I give a damn what you believe? Won't stop the outcome, will it?" She laughed, tilting her head to examine him with a piercing gaze. "No Toby, the only thing I care about is that you get through this battle alive. I've put too much work into restoring your family to let you tear it apart again."

"You can't stop me fighting," said Toby quickly, thrusting his wand forward threateningly, despite knowing that if Katherine had decided to remove him from the battle, there was probably very little he could do stop her. True enough, the look of scornful amusement Katherine cast at his outstretched arm told him that she'd had exactly the same thought, but to his surprise she made no move to do anything of the sort.

Instead, she raised two fingers to her lips and whistled, the sound sharp and clear in the stillness of the clearing. Toby stared her in mounting confusion as her upturned eyes scanned the heavens for he knew not what.

"What are you doing?" he asked, wondering vaguely if she'd finally gone completely insane.

"Shh," Katherine chided him, waving a hand to indicate that he should keep quiet, and then raising the other arm skywards. Toby opened his mouth to object, to ask that she at least explain what she was doing, and then he heard the rush of wings and a dark shape dropped out of the sky, swooping to land gently on Katherine's outstretched hand.

Katherine grinned at him as the bird settled on it's perch, and turned a beady black eye on him.

"That's your familiar," said Toby carefully, remembering the day in the graveyard when the bird had attacked Belmont.

"Familiar?" asked Katherine, smiling slightly, as though amused at the thought. "Yes, I suppose he is. He's mine, anyway." She stroked the bird's proud head with long, elegant fingers, her expression turning a little rueful. "How good's your memory, Toby Holder?"

"Ok, I guess. Why?"

"Well I was just thinking…do you remember what Alastor said in the graveyard? About Archimedes?"

"Archimedes?" Toby asked with a frown, before recalling that that was the bird's name. Archimedes cocked his head at him, surveying him with an unsettlingly intelligent eye, and Toby racked his brains for Moody's long ago remark. "He said…he said it's life was tied to yours, didn't he?" Toby volunteered at last and Katherine grinned, obviously pleased.

"He did indeed. That's why they're dying out, you know. Their owners won't let them go, so when their life runs out, the birds die too. They're basically parasites, really – they live off your energy. That's why they work so hard to keep you safe – not for any foolish concept of loyalty - they just don't want to die." She smiled, stroking the bird's soft black feathers and her eyes slid over to Toby, a curious glimmer lurking within them. "Archimedes has saved my life a hundred times over. I owe him."

"Yeah?" asked Toby, not at all sure where she was going with this. Katherine smiled again and jerked her arm so that Archimedes, who'd been perched quietly on her hand, was suddenly airborne. Glossy black wings beat against the chill night air as the bird swooped forward, landing clumsily on the arm that Toby had automatically stretched out to receive him.

Toby stared blankly into the jet black eyes of the bird and then looked up at Katherine, who had bent to pick up a single feather from the ground. She rolled the quill between her fingers, twirling the shaft so that the feather flickered between black and a muted dark green.

"That's from him, isn't it?" said Toby slowly, peering closer at Archimedes' sleek feathers and noticing the greenish tint on the underside of his vast wings.

"They adapt to their owners," said Katherine softly, grinning again and tucking the feather behind her ear so that it stuck up like a plume. "So you needn't worry about anyone recognising him – give him a couple of weeks, he'll look completely different."

"He will?" asked Toby blankly, trying to organise his tumbled thoughts into some sort of order. "Wait, you're giving him to _me_?"

Katherine's grin faded a little, and something in her face softened. "I told you – I owe that bird. As long as you pass them on before you die, they can survive. If you don't want him, give him to someone else, but just keep him for now, yeah? He'll protect you tonight, which is more than I can do."

"But…what about you? You need him more than I do – you've got more people trying to kill you," pointed out Toby, glancing at Archimedes, still perched calmly on his arm.

"Maybe," agreed Katherine, drawing her wand from her jeans and wrapping her fingers around it. "But you have more to live for." She looked up at him, the blue eyes he'd seen in his dreams for so many years gleaming in the dim light, and smiled gently. "Good luck, Toby Holder. Have a good life."

"Good luck," whispered Toby, as she turned on her heel, darting into the trees and back to the battle. Toby stood alone for a moment, then raised his arm, so that he was face to beak with Archimedes. "Just you and me then," he said, feeling a little silly, because he was, after all, talking to a bird that couldn't possibly understand a word he was saying. Archimedes blinked at him in reply, and Toby saw with a jolt that the beady black eyes were now a brilliant sapphire blue.

Toby frowned a little, then smiled wryly and turned his head in the direction of the battle field. The muted sounds of fighting were filtering through the trees, followed occasionally by flashes of stray spells. He took a breath, then tightened his grip on his wand and headed towards the fight, Archimedes launching himself from Toby's arm and gliding silently above him.

x – X – x

Remus shot one of the nastier hexes that James and Sirius had found on a midnight escapade to the Restricted Section at his opponent, and ducked behind a felled tree to catch his breath. He'd lost sight of Tonks a while ago, but she knew how to look after herself – she was an Auror after all. Still, the thought of her lingered at the front of his mind and he hoped fervently that her innate clumsiness wasn't making it's presence known. He could not afford to lose her, not now, not ever.

A branch next to his right ear caught fire as his adversary's curse missed him by mere centimetres, and he leapt out from his hiding place before he had a chance to lose his nerve. The hood had fallen back from the Death Eater's head and spiky black hair stuck up in all directions, glistening with sweat above the white mask concealed his features.

"Werewolf scum!"

Remus bit down a retort and cursed the man instead. The Death Eater howled as his right hand began to swell to twice it's normal size, and he nearly dropped his wand which looked suddenly dwarfed inside the huge fingers.

Remus took used the lapse in concentration to hurl a temporary blindness spell at him, but it rebounded against a hastily cast shield charm and he had to drop flat on the floor to avoid it. He rolled over, wand in hand, but the Death Eater was already advancing, dark eyes glittering behind the mask as he raised his wand for the final blow-

-and a flash of orange light hit him squarely in chest and he halted, apparently frozen for a second, before falling forward onto Remus' outstretched legs.

Remus yelled at the impact, for the man was far heavier and _harder_ than he had any reasonable right to be, and shoved the dead weight from his body.

"Sorry about that," murmured a soft voice in his ear. "Didn't realise he'd fall forward."

Remus scowled, hitching up his robes to examine his legs, but there didn't seem to be any lasting damage, save for a red patch of skin which was rapidly darkening to a purple bruise. "What did you hit him with?" he asked Katherine, as she rolled the motionless body over onto his back and tugged off the mask.

When she didn't answer, Remus glanced up and wished he hadn't. The pale face beneath the mask was contorted in agony, brown eyes a mixture of pain and fury.

"Katherine?"

"Hmm?" Katherine tore her gaze from the man and looked at him expectantly.

"That's…Dolohov, isn't it?" he asked suddenly, and Katherine nodded, casting a disgusted look at the man before her.

"Stupid man," she muttered, and Remus frowned until he realised she was talking to Dolohov. Remus stared at the two of them, not knowing what to say. Antonin Dolohov had been sent to Azkaban after the first war, he'd killed Gideon and Fabian Prewett, and Katherine was calling him stupid? Evil, murderous and twisted, yes, but stupid?

"You just had to go and attack _him,_ didn't you?" continued Katherine, and Remus saw Dolohov's eyes slide towards him, and then, more importantly, saw his left hand creep slowly towards his fallen wand.

"Katherine!" Remus warned, and Katherine's head snapped round in time to see Dolohov's hand close around the wand.

Then, to Remus' surprise, she sighed and shook her head.

"Idiot," she said wearily, and lashed out with one foot. The heel of her boot caught Dolohov under the chin and his head snapped backwards with a dark crack, then lolled to the side at an unnatural angle. "You all right?"

Remus blinked, dragging his gaze from the body of Dolohov and looking up at his old friend.

"Fine," he said bleakly. "Were you two…? You were in Azkaban together, weren't you?"

"He wasn't too bad," shrugged Katherine, holding out a hand to haul him to his feet. "He could hold a conversation at least, which is more than you can say for some of them."

"Katherine, he tortured hundreds of people!"

Katherine smiled darkly, an odd expression on her face. "So have I."

Remus opened his mouth to object, but closed it again. He wouldn't win the argument – he never did. Katherine laughed, and turned to go, but Remus caught her arm, remembering something.

"Did you read the paper this morning?"

It might have been his imagination, but he thought Katherine looked a little awkward for a second before shaking her head slowly.

"No, I was…otherwise occupied this morning," she said delicately, and Remus nodded in understanding.

"Preparations for tonight, right," he agreed, barely noticing the slight raise of Katherine's eyebrow in his determination to get to the point. "Well if you had read it, you'd find that Dolores Umbridge has been found."

"Who?" asked Katherine, and if it weren't for the wholly honest incomprehension in her eyes, Remus might have believed she wasn't acting.

"_Dolores Umbridge_, Katherine – don't give me that look, you know full well who she is. She went missing a week ago, and she turned up in Saint Mungo's last night."

"And I care about this why?" asked Katherine, with an impatient sigh.

"She's been bitten," said Remus darkly, brown eyes narrowed. Katherine frowned a little.

"_Bitten _bitten?" she asked slowly. "As in by a werewolf, bitten?"

"That's right."

Katherine continued to stare at him for a moment, then burst into laughter. "Seriously? _Excellent_."

"_Katherine!_" shouted Remus. "It's not a laughing matter. Do you know what they do to werewolves who bite people?"

"They lock them up in Azkaban and throw away the key," answered Katherine brightly. Remus gaped at her, shocked at her reaction; he knew there was a side to her that she was careful not to show him and that he in turn rarely acknowledged, but he hadn't thought her capable of this.

"I can't believe you set this up," he said quietly, the bitterness and shame in his voice stilling Katherine's laughter.

"I didn't mean for him to bite her," she said, grimacing a little. "But it's not like he doesn't deserve Azkaban, anyway."

"And you thought you'd be the judge of that, did you?" asked Remus with such force that Katherine took a step back, before laughing again.

"Rem, it was Fenrir Greyback. It didn't exactly take a genius to figure it out."

"Fenrir…?" asked Remus, stunned, and Katherine smiled a little.

"You didn't think I'd force some poor, struggling beggar to attack her, did you? Fenrir's such a loose cannon nowadays, all you have to do is point and aim."

"And you didn't think he'd _bite_ her," asked Remus, in the tone of one questioning someone's sanity.

"Remus, it's Fenrir. I thought he'd rip her to shreds. Clearly I was wrong." She frowned, looking like someone who was annoyed it had rained when the forecast had predicted sunshine, then grinned. "Oh well, better this way, I think. It's a bit like divine intervention, isn't it?"

Remus managed to keep his jaw from dropping by using all his self control, then shook his head despairingly. "Katherine, do you have even the_ slightest _concept of what divine intervention is, because I'm fairly sure it doesn't involve _intentionally_ setting a maniacal werewolf on someone."

"Oh come on, you can't tell me you didn't grin when you read the news – before you decided I had to be behind it and started feeling guilty, of course."

"That's not the po-" Remus broke off, because Katherine was grinning like the Cheshire Cat, and like said feline, was probably about to dash off before he could finish his argument. "You're impossible," he muttered instead, and Katherine's smile softened.

"I know." For a moment, they just stood facing each other, two quiescent figures on the fringes of the most ferocious battle Remus had ever seen, then a limp body was blasted past them, and the stillness was broken. Katherine smiled wryly, fingers twirling her wand, anxious to be amidst the fight once more. "I'm glad you found Tonks, Rem. She'll look after you."

Remus found himself halfway through a nod when he realised what was bothering him about this exchange; it sounded far too much like a goodbye for his liking. _She'll look after you…because very soon I won't be able to._

"Katherine-"

"I've got to go, Rem - Bella's still out there somewhere. How am I going to face Sirius if I don't get revenge?"

"Katherine, you're not going to-"

"Love you, Remus," said Katherine quickly, darting forward and placing a chaste kiss on his forehead. "Good luck."

And then she'd disappeared, dodging past Kingsley as he duelled with Amycus Carrow. Remus stared after her, one hand touching his forehead where she'd kissed him.

"Love you, Katherine."

**x – X – x**

More soon. Probably. Possibly. I'll try.

You know what will encourage me?

REVIEWS!

Pretty please?

(Oh, and a sneak peek at the next chapter for anyone who can guess what spell Katherine used on Dolohov - as long as you leave a signed review or contact email, otherwise I obviously can't contact you. Hint - it's somewhere in this story)


	60. Collateral damage

A/N: A thousand apologies for the wait, but it's worth it, I promise

**A/N:** A thousand apologies for the wait, but it's worth it, I promise. Enjoy.

**x – X - x**

**Chapter 58 – Collateral damage**

"She murdered our mate, let someone else take the blame for it and then lied about it, and you want me to forgive just because she's a bit upset?"

Severus sighed, deflecting a stray curse and tugging Robert around to face him once more.

"It's not a simple as that, and you know it."

"Wrong," countered Robert, wrenching his arm free and glaring at Severus with furious brown eyes. "It _is_ as simple as that but you let that woman get away with anything. You don't understand - you didn't know Reg like we did. The three of us swore to protect each other."

Severus broke in at this, refusing to let his old friend finish. "But that's what she was trying to do, don't you see? Regulus _asked_ her to do it, he wanted-"

"Don't you dare say he wanted to die," yelled Robert, wheeling around and thrusting his wand in Severus' face.

"I wasn't going to," sighed Severus, with an exasperated look. He shook his head, casting around for a better way to phrase his words. "Look, if you knew the Dark Lord was after you, who would you rather he sent after you? Bella or Kat?"

Robert glowered at him silently, clearly trying to think of way to answer that didn't make it seem as though he had a point, and failing; they both knew he'd never choose Bella. Indeed, if Severus had to die, he'd go without a fuss if the last thing he ever saw was Katherine's face.

"Would you have done it?" Robert's quiet question threw Severus for a moment, and then he shook his head slowly.

"I don't know – maybe not, but that's not really the point, is it? He didn't ask me, he asked her, and like you said, they were good friends – how could she refuse his last request?"

Robert let out a frustrated breath, half turning to blast an unwary figure twenty feet into a tree.

"She should have told us," he growled stubbornly, unwilling to give in. Severus shrugged again, catching a glimpse of violet hair amongst the throng of fighters, where Tonks was duelling heatedly with Rudolphus Lestrange. It was hard to tell from his position who had the upper hand, but it looked as though it might have been Lestrange. Severus looked back at Robert's strained expression and saw some of his own anguish reflected in the fierce brown eyes.

"Come on Rob," he tried, a trace of weariness in his voice now. "You know what she's like. She was afraid of our reactions – she didn't want to lose us again."

Robert laughed harshly, brushing sweat streaked blond hair off his forehead with the back of his hand. "Oh no, heaven forbid she drive us away _unintentionally_. That would be _bad_, wouldn't it? It's only ok if she _means_ to do it, because then it's in our best interests. Katherine doesn't need us, Sev, she needs a psychiatrist."

"Don't be ridiculous," said Severus quietly, trying to ignore the ring of truth in Robert's words. Robert wasn't fooled so easily, though, and a sour grin formed on his lips.

"You know I'm right, Sev. She was pretty mental when we were at school, but that's nothing compared to her behaviour over the past year. Nicola said Katherine didn't know if Lupin was still alive when she first turned up again – that she'd been to afraid to check. That sound like the Kat you know? And she's been caught lying, for Merlin's sake - tell me when that's happened before."

Severus had to admit that he couldn't – twisting the truth was the one thing Katherine had always been good at no matter what. She'd been letting things slip lately – leaving Faye unprepared for Death Eater confrontations and then that time when he'd found her in Nicola's bathroom, her head in a complete mess…

"She's doing so much, she's practically splitting at the seams," continued Robert, pulling Severus to the fringes of the battle and gazing at him earnestly. "Trying to maintain her cover, help Potter, protect us… It's no wonder she keep getting her stories mixed up – she can't remember which line she told which person. Why she can't just tell us the truth for once I don't know."

"She has told us the truth," objected Severus, frowning at Robert, who raised his eyebrows sceptically.

"You think? She told you how she managed to be clinically dead for sixteen years and recover, yet? How she got out of Azkaban? How she knew what went on the night the Dark Lord rose again? Where the hell she's been for the past week?"

"Not the first three," admitted Severus grudgingly. Robert's light brows furrowed at this answer.

"She told you where she went?"

"Yes, but that's her business. She'll tell you if she wants to." Robert looked for a moment as though he was going to argue, but then he shrugged.

"Fine, but my point stands. She's been keeping things from us and she doesn't seem to care that it's obvious. She never used to be this careless, and there was more at stake back then – more of us were still around for a start. I know Azkaban is meant to mess with your head, but Katherine's stronger than that."

"You think?" asked Severus softly, peering out from the trees they were sheltering behind with an unfocused look in his dark eyes.

"Think what?" asked Robert, confused by Severus' sudden change of mood.

"Do you really think Katherine's strong?"

"Well…yeah. She's the best fighter I've ever seen." Robert paused, watching Severus' profile closely. "Why? Don't you?"

Severus turned away from the battle to look at him, a wry smile on his thin lips.

"Not on her own. You saw what happened to her in our fifth year; she only got out of it when she started talking to us again. She works so hard to protect us because we're the ones who keep her sane. Without us, what does she have to live for?"

"She doesn't think like that," objected Robert, a deep frown marring his brow. "She doesn't see things like that. If she did, she wouldn't have been able to kill Regulus – she'd be destroying her own reason for being here."

Severus shook his head. "Don't try to apply logic to Katherine, Rob. Regulus asked her for a favour, and she granted it. She'll do anything for us, no matter how much it hurts her. You should have realised that by now."

"Katherine Riddle will do anything that will annoy Bella or the Dark Lord, Severus. Everything else is merely a way of passing the time."

Severus and Robert turned abruptly at the voice, wands at the ready, but relaxed as the newly risen moon illuminated familiar pale blond hair; it was Lucius.

"Having trouble?" asked Robert mockingly, running his eyes over Lucius' torn and bloody robes.

"Nothing I can't handle," muttered Lucius, glaring at him and leaning against the trunk of a tree for support.

"Who was it?" asked Severus, and Lucius' scowl deepened.

"Those bloody ginger freaks. Frances and Gordon Weasel or whatever they're called. What are you two up to, anyway?" he questioned, grey eyes narrowed suspiciously. "I thought this battle was what you wanted, wasn't it, Avery? Shouldn't you be out there fighting alongside your mental partner?"

"Have you seen her?" put in Severus quickly. Had Katherine rejoined the fight or was she still in the forest somewhere?

"Last I saw she was duelling Dawlish. Well, I say duelling, perhaps the more apt term would be_ annihilating_," said Lucius with a careless shrug of his shoulders. "Why?"

"I was just wondering if she'd caught up with Bella yet, that's all," said Severus, casting a glance back at the battle. Lucius smiled grimly, following his gaze.

"Ah yes, I don't want to miss that confrontation. Those two have been fighting for the Dark Lord's attention ever since they met."

Robert and Severus stared at him incredulously, and Robert said slowly: "That's not why they fight. Bellatrix killed Sirius Black – that's why Katherine's after her."

"And before that?" asked Lucius, arching an eyebrow.

"They fought over Leon," supplied Severus with a frown. "Katherine told me Bella liked him."

Lucius smiled with a patronising air and shook his head. "Wilkes was never more than an idle fantasy to Bella. The only person she cares for is the Dark Lord."

"But they got along fine before the whole Wilkes thing," objected Robert. "I remember – I was there. They were practically best friends."

"Only because the Dark Lord was interested in Katherine," said Lucius with a patient sigh. "Bella saw his attention waver so she attached herself to his daughter to stay in the limelight. Of course, then Katherine started going off the rails, so Bella had to back off for fear of being tarred with the same brush. Don't you get it, they're jealous of each other: Bella envies Katherine's blood tie to the Dark Lord, and Katherine hates the fact that Bella is his favourite."

"That's crazy," said Robert quietly. "Katherine doesn't even like the Dark Lord."

"What's that got to do with anything?" asked Lucius, raising one eyebrow. "He's her father – she wants to come first."

"If she wanted to impress him, she'd tell him how she broke out of Azkaban single handed," pointed out Robert.

"She hasn't told anyone that, which probably means she's up to something." Lucius paused, apparently entranced by a burn mark on the sapling opposite him, then added: "Or maybe that's just the norm for her. She likes to have an air of mystery, doesn't she?" He looked up, grey eyes focusing suddenly on Severus. "That reminds me, did you notice she tracked down your necklace?"

"My necklace?" asked Severus blankly, wondering where on earth Lucius had got the idea that he owned jewellery.

"Oh you know the one," said Lucius, waving a hand dismissively. "The one you spent practically all your savings on. The snake one – you bought it as a Christmas present or something."

"Oh," said Severus, catching Lucius' meaning. "I guess she must have raided the lockers where her stuff was kept."

"No, that's my point," said Lucius, shaking his head. "It wasn't in the lockers – her stuff was sold on after she died. She must have spent a long time trying to track it down."

"So?" asked Severus, nonplussed.

"I think," said Robert softly, with a slightly preoccupied look on his face. "That Lucius is trying to point out that Katherine is in love with you."

"Oh," said Severus quickly, thankful that it was dark and they couldn't see the blush that crept onto his pale face. "Right."

"But he's not quite right," continued Robert, the distracted expression remaining on his thin face. "Because that necklace wasn't in her locker when she died, it was at Godric's Hollow."

There was a long pause, then Severus ventured slowly: "Would you mind repeating that last bit, Rob?"

Robert snapped out of his reverie and looked sharply at Severus. "Lupin identified it when he visited the Potter's house. It came into my department to be checked for transport spells – the Aurors thought Black brought it with him to the house as a momento of her."

"But the Aurors didn't know they were together," said Severus, not seeing where Robert was going. "And he wasn't even there that night."

Robert rolled his eyes, shaking his head fiercely. "Lupin told them about their involvement – he must have believed that himself, that Katherine had persuaded Black to join forces with the Dark Lord. And he was there the night they died – it's on record, he arrived shortly after they died, gave Rubeus Hagrid his motorbike - that's why I never thought anymore of it. I knew he wouldn't have been there with the Dark Lord, but he could have dropped it later on."

"Robert, is there a point to this?" asked Severus impatiently; he was anxious to get back to the battle, back to Katherine.

"Don't you see it?" asked Robert, eyes alight with something between triumph and fear. "Everyone thought Black dropped the necklace, because there was no other reason for it to be there, but there is another reason, another person who could have taken it to Godric's Hollow that night."

"But no one else was there," said Lucius, staring at Robert as though he'd lost his mind. "Unless you're referring to that giant oaf Hagrid."

Severus barely heard Lucius' remark – he was staring at Robert too, but not with disbelief.

"That's not possible," he said quietly, the horror on his face seeping into his words. "There's no_ way _no one would have noticed. I mean, something that powerful, it'd…" His voice trailed off as he saw the answer in his friend's eyes.

"I told you she'd changed."

x – X - x

Katherine ducked behind a statue that had presumably been a person an hour ago and found herself face to face with a teenage girl with flaming red hair and dark brown eyes. They stared at each other for a moment, then the statue they'd been taking refuge behind exploded under the force of a well placed Reducto and they tumbled to the ground.

Katherine pulled herself upright and shot a particularly nasty curse at the culprit, before reaching a hand down to the young girl. The girl scowled at her, and scooted backwards, wand thrust out before her. Katherine suppressed a smile and shrugged her shoulders, looking around for her next opponent.

"Ginny, no!" The familiar voice made Katherine turn back around, and realise with a start that the girl had her wand drawn back, ready to throw a hex. "Ginny!" yelled the voice again, and Ron emerged from the crowd, slinging an arm around the girl's waist and pulling her backwards. "What do you think you're doing?" he all but yelled in her ear, blue eyes wide with shock.

"What do you think I'm doing?" retorted the younger girl, Ginny apparently, looking up at him with an expression of utter contempt. Katherine didn't bother to hide her laughter this time, and Ginny's head whipped around to glare at her with fierce brown eyes.

"I take it you two are related?" asked Katherine softly, noting the shared red hair and freckles.

"She's my little sister," said Ron, watching her with wary eyes.

"Only by one year," objected Ginny, wriggling free of her brother's grip and glaring at Katherine.

"Feisty little thing, aren't you?" grinned Katherine, eyes gleaming with amusement. "I'd stay away from Fenrir, if I were you. You seem just his type."

"Is he here?" asked Ron, casting an eye around the clearing.

"Somewhere," nodded Katherine. "Haven't crossed paths with him yet. Actually rather hoping I don't. He's not the nicest person to meet in a battle; tends to go for the throat, apparently."

Ginny snarled, and Katherine looked at her in surprise, then noticed the dark look on Ron's face too.

"What?" she asked cautiously. "You haven't met him before, have you?"

"He attacked our eldest brother," said Ron quietly, taking Ginny's arm again. "Didn't quite manage to bite him, though."

"Oh," said Katherine, frowning a little. Then: "Eldest brother? You've got more than one?"

"We've got five," answered Ron, giving Katherine an odd look. "Why?"

"They all got red hair?" asked Katherine, eyes focused on something over to his left. Ron nodded, and Katherine treated him to a half smile. "I shan't go killing any red haired people then. Excuse me."

"Where are you going?" asked Ron, before he could stop himself, and to his surprise Katherine paused to answer him.

"I owe someone a favour. Not gonna get another chance to pay them back, am I?" She grinned at his confused expression and darted off into the throng of people. Ron frowned; it was probably crazy, but he was getting the distinct impression that Katherine was rather enjoying herself. No, that was mad – no one _enjoyed_ fighting for their lives…

"What was all that about?" demanded Ginny, breaking into his thoughts as she stared up at him with a disbelieving expression on her face. "Do you _know_ her?"

x – X - x

Draco Malfoy stumbled over a fallen body and lashed out wildly with his arm when someone caught his collar and brought him up short.

"Where you off to?" asked a feminine voice and he twisted around to see a pair of bright blue eyes examining him closely. Draco said nothing; he wasn't about to explain to Katherine Riddle of all people that he was making an escape from his crazed uncle. From what he'd heard of her distaste for his mother and father, she'd probably hand him over with a smile on her face.

Draco tried to pull away from her grasp, but as he turned Rudolphus Lestrange emerged from the crowd, his face contorted with anger. He caught sight of Draco a second later, and was about to launch himself at his nephew when he saw the hand gripping his collar. A flash of confusion sped across his face as his gaze travelled up the arm and realised who it belonged to.

"Hello Roddy," grinned Katherine, tugging Draco back a fraction, so he was further from his uncle. "Where's Trix?"

"Hand the boy over, Riddle," growled Rudolphus, brandishing his wand threateningly.

"Why?" asked Katherine, pulling Draco a little closer and looping the arm that held him around his neck for a better grip. If Draco tried to make his escape now, he was in serious danger of being strangled.

"I hardly think that's any of your business, Riddle," sneered Rudolphus, hard eyes narrowed in dislike. "Hand him over or face the consequences."

Draco couldn't see Katherine's expression, but from the look on his uncle's face, she probably wasn't quaking in her boots. Cool breath tickled his cheek as Katherine leant down a little to speak softly in his ear, just loud enough for his uncle, who was only a few feet away, to hear.

"Did you know your Uncle Roddy used to wear women's dresses?"

Draco didn't move a muscle, keeping his expression carefully blank as his uncle's face bypassed scarlet and headed straight for purple.

"It's true," continued Katherine, either not noticing his uncle's reaction, or choosing to ignore it. "Your Aunty Bella used to use him as a kind of human Barbie doll."

Rudolphus raised a hand that was shaking with fury and directed his wand at Katherine's head.

"Going to kill me, Roddy?" asked Katherine quietly, straightening up and shifting her grip on Draco so that he had to move sideways, out of the path of his uncle's wand.

"Go to hell, Riddle."

Katherine laughed hollowly, a grim sound that made Draco's uneasiness increase triple fold.

"Already there, Roddy." There was a flash of green light that made Draco close his eyes, and then the arm around his shoulder loosened and fell away. Draco stood where he was for a second, hardly daring to open his eyes, and then he heard a spell go rushing past him and decided his survival odds would probably increase if he was able to see what was going on.

The first thing he saw upon opening his eyes was his uncle's prone body lying face down on the grass just in front of him. He jumped back, catching his foot on a rock and for the second time in as many minutes found himself being saved from falling by a strong hand on his collar.

"Clumsy, aren't you?" asked Katherine Riddle, giving him a bemused look. He stared at her, eyes wide; how she been that fast? His uncle had already had his wand drawn, and yet he was the one on the ground.

"How did you do that?" he managed to get out, forgetting to be scared of her for a moment. "Your wand was still in your pocket!"

Katherine's momentary frown smoothed out and she smiled a little. "I didn't live this long without learning a few things, kid. One of them being that you make damn sure you're quicker at duelling than your opponent before you stand around making small talk."

Draco stared into eyes as blue as sapphires and wondered if his father was right, and the real reason Katherine had lived this long was that she simply didn't consider the possibility that she could die. She certainly didn't act like any of the other Death Eaters he'd come into contact with so far.

"Come on," she said, tugging on his collar and heading for the trees. Draco followed – it wasn't as though he had any choice in the matter, and he wasn't keen to stay in the middle of the battle in any case. "Get your wand out, kid," muttered Katherine as they passed a young woman with violet hair was fighting a masked figure. Draco fumbled for his wand obediently as Katherine shot a quick Stunner at the woman's opponent.

Draco hesitated as the figure fell, but stumbled as Katherine kept going. She glanced back at him, a questioning look on her face and he looked down, concentrating on where he was putting his feet.

"What's your father told you about me?" asked Katherine, coming to a halt amidst a cluster of dark trunks and letting go of his collar at last. The moonlight filtering through the canopy of leaves above them illuminated Katherine's face, and Draco was surprised to see it looked almost amused.

"Not much," muttered Draco, adjusting his grip on his wand. "He doesn't like talking about you."

"Well someone's told you something," observed Katherine, frowning a little. "Else I'm pretty sure you wouldn't be terrified of me."

Draco opened his mouth to protest that he wasn't afraid of her, and then shut it again. It was a lie, and she wouldn't believe him anyway.

"Bella's mentioned you a few times," he mumbled, thinking of the night he'd gone with his Aunt to the Ministry of Magic to try and find information on Katherine. What would she do to him if she found out he'd helped his Aunt uncover her cousin's identity?

"Belle?"

Draco's grey eyes widened in shock at Katherine's voice and his heart sank as he realised she'd been using Legilimency on him.

"I'm filed under Belle?" asked Katherine again, looking confused. "And Julian…huh. Guess he likes me more than he lets on."

"Julian?"

"You didn't notice?" asked Katherine, arching an eyebrow and grinning. "He took my file while Bella was searching the R's. So much for not being loyal." She frowned a little, considering then added: "Or maybe he just didn't want Severus killing him. Probably more likely."

Draco said nothing; he didn't dare. From what he'd managed to pick up about Katherine, she was supposed to be a ruthless murderer who'd double cross you in a heartbeat, not someone who saved your life and then started making polite conversation.

A shadow moved amongst the trees and Katherine caught his wrist and pulled him towards her, wand arm outstretched. She didn't shout out 'who's there' or try and attack the newcomer, or do any of the things he was sure the rest of his family would have done, she just stood very still and waited.

The figure stopped a couple of meters away and a familiar voice called out: "Let him go."

Katherine squinted through the darkness and asked slowly: "Narcissa?"

Draco watched as his mother walked into a patch of moonlight, and saw to his surprise that his father was there too, one hand placed on his wife's shoulder, though to restrain or comfort, Draco couldn't tell.

"Please, Katherine," said Narcissa, eyes locked onto Katherine's. "You can fight us if you want, but let Draco go."

Draco felt the grip on his wrist tighten and risked a glance up at Katherine's face, but found no clues there – she was just watching his parents with a carefully blank expression.

"Katherine-" began Lucius, but was interrupted by Katherine's sudden input.

"Why do you think I would harm your son?"

"Aside from the fact that you're holding him hostage?" asked Narcissa, a shrill note of distress in her voice.

"Am I?" asked Katherine calmly, assuming an expression of polite interest.

"You threatened to kill him before!" shrieked Narcissa, pointing her wand accusingly at Katherine. Draco stiffened at this news, not daring now to turn and see what Katherine's reaction was.

"I did," she said softly, and Draco saw his father swallow uncomfortably and assumed she had switched her gaze to him. "But Lucius upheld his part of the bargain. I've got no reason to harm Draco."

"Then let him go," said Lucius, eyes the same dark grey as Draco's flickering momentarily to glance down at his son. There was a short pause, then Lucius did something that Draco had never seen him do before: he threw down his wand.

It landed with a soft patter on the dry carpet of leaves and rolled to a halt midway between the two parties. A moment later, after a hesitant glance at her husband, Narcissa followed suit.

"There – we're unarmed. Do what you like, Katherine, just let Draco go," said Lucius, proud head dipped, aristocratic voice quiet. "Please."

Draco felt his wrist being pulled back and he stepped backwards unsteadily, feeling warm breath whisper past his cheek as Katherine spoke softly in his ear.

"See that Draco? Mummy and Daddy love you. Did you know that?"

Draco turned his head slightly to meet Katherine's suddenly animated gaze as it dawned on him what she'd just done. A quick flick of her wand brought both his parents' wands flying into her hand, and she pressed them into his palm with a grin.

"You're crazy," said Draco quietly, unable to drag his eyes away from hers.

"I know," she agreed, straightening up. "Go on – go hug your mum while you still can."

Draco stood staring at her for a few more seconds, then turned and walked unsteadily over to his waiting parents, whereupon his mother threw her arms around him and squeezed him so tight he could scarcely breathe.

"Quits now, okay?" he heard Katherine say, and he pulled away from his mother, looking curiously back at the black haired woman.

"You were in my debt?" asked Lucius, raising light eyebrows in a good imitation of nonchalance that nevertheless didn't fool Draco.

"You saved my skin once before, Lucius," said Katherine evenly. "Now I've saved your son. Life for a life – we're quits."

Lucius frowned, as though he didn't quite understand. "I've never saved your life, Katherine."

Katherine smiled a little, as though he'd told a joke. "Never said it was my life you saved." She turned to leave, then paused and spun around again, looking more focused than she had before. "That reminds me, there's a guy around here somewhere, mid-twenties, brown hair, got a bird following him around – the feathered kind, not a woman – you hurt him, or allow him to come to harm when you could have stopped it, and I really will kill Draco."

There was silence for a few seconds, and then Lucius asked quietly: "Mid-twenties?"

Katherine grinned widely, black hair gleaming in the dim light. "Life for a life. You protect mine, I'll protect yours."

She turned again, but this time it was Lucius who called out to stop her. "Severus and Avery were looking for you."

Katherine glanced back at him, frowning. "Why?"

"I don't exactly know – they weren't making much sense. Something about Black and the Dark Lord?"

It might have been Draco's imagination, but he thought Katherine's face darkened at this, and she turned away.

"Oh. I know what that's about."

"They seemed quite anxious to see you."

Katherine shrugged, staring out through the trees to the ongoing battle. "It can wait. Got one more score to settle first." She did look back then, a grim smile on her face as she found Narcissa's gaze. "I hope you said goodbye to your sister."

x – X - x

Bellatrix threw a nasty scalding at Kingsley Shacklebolt and darted through the crowd of fighters to avoid any potential repercussions. She paused to draw breath before seeking out her next opponent and jumped as a voice whispered in her ear:

"Boo."

She whirled around and came face to face with the very person she'd spent the last hour searching for.

"Hello Trix," grinned Katherine, eyes shining with a mad sort of delight. "Sorry for doing a disappearing act on you earlier – had a few things to sort out."

"I'll sort you out," growled Bella, brandishing her wand and scowling at her opponent. Katherine's grin widened and she stepped backwards, spreading her arms and giving her a mock bow.

"Give it your best shot, Trixibell. Oh, by the way, did I mention I just murdered your husband…?"

x – X - x

Severus pushed his way through the throng of people, Robert a little way behind him. Severus was vaguely aware that Robert was deflecting a lot of curses that were thrown their way, but he wasn't paying enough to attention to consider helping. All he was concentrating on was finding Katherine before something happened to her.

He knew she was a good fighter, but Robert was right – she was cracking up – had been for the past year. He'd just never realised why until now.

"Sev!" He turned at Robert's harsh tones, frowning. "This way."

Severus retraced his steps and followed Robert, who was pushing his way to the front of a small crowd. Severus stopped just beside him and peered out into the ring formed by groups onlookers. Katherine and Bellatrix were dueling so heatedly that the air was a haze of bright lights and the grass beneath their feet was scorched with burn marks from stray curses.

"What do we do?" asked Robert softly, and Severus didn't need to look at him to know he was watching Katherine's every move, as was he. "We can't exactly interrupt them."

"No," agreed Severus, wondering if he could protect Katherine by sheer will power. Maybe if he tried to kill Bella…

"Don't. They keep moving – you're just as likely to hit Katherine as Bella," said Robert, placing a restraining hand on the arm Severus hadn't realised he'd raised.

"We've got to do something," said Severus, wrenching his gaze away from Katherine with a tremendous effort and focusing on Robert, trying to blot out the image of Katherine's lifeless body that was invading his mind. "We've got to…" He trailed off as the cold hit him, and he realised why his thoughts had suddenly taken such a dark turn.

Unwillingly he raised his eyes to the sky and saw the stars blinking out as what looked like hundreds of Dementors swooped down on the battlefield. Everything seemed muted, as though he was hearing it through a thick pane of glass, so it took so time for Robert's yell to get through to him. He turned his attention from the swarming Dementors to the duel going on before him, and his heart stopped beating.

Katherine had stopped dead, eyes wide as she surveyed the ranks of Dementors, wand held loosely at her side. Bella, too, had faltered, her dark eyes feverish, breath coming in quick, shallow gasps.

Severus stood where he was, unable to move. No matter how bad the Dementors' effect was on him, it must be a hundred times worse for those who had spent so many years in Azkaban, living with that feeling of despair every day.

_Come on, Katherine. You spent less time__ in there than her – focus. _Even as he thought it, though, he knew it was no use. Katherine might have been around the Dementors less, but she had more to fear than Bella did, especially now.

Then, despite the sinking feeling in his chest, Katherine did move – her pale face turned and her eyes locked onto Robert's. Her lips moved, trying to form words, but no sound came out and she looked away, closing her eyes.

Severus made to start forward, without any clear idea in his mind as to what he was going to do. He only knew that he needed to be near her, needed to hold her and make that tormented look in her eyes go away…

And then there was a flash of green light, and a soft gasp, and silence.

He stopped, feet frozen to the ground as the world ground to a halt and he stared in utter disbelief at the black haired figure on the ground.

And then someone laughed, a high, maniacal sound, and the silence was shattered.

The world started spinning again, so fast that he couldn't see straight and fell to his knees beside the body, Bellatrix's insane laughter ringing in his ears.

**x – X – x**

_Please don't hurt me._


	61. Corrupted

**A/N:** HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

Just a small reminder, since it's only been mentioned once before, Louise was the name of Robert Avery's older sister, who died near the end of the first war. That's why she's mentioned.

**Chapter 59 – Corrupted**

"_KATHERINE!"_

Robert stared dazedly at the scene before him, Severus' tortured yell barely even registering in the surreal world he'd suddenly wandered into, because Katherine couldn't be dead, she just couldn't be. Katherine didn't die – Fiona died, Evan died, Louise died, Regulus died, but Katherine didn't. Love her or hate her she was always there, _always_.

"Expecto patronum," he muttered, not even bothered to move his wand; it wouldn't work. There were too many Dementors and Katherine was dead and his daughter's screams were echoing in his head and Katherine was _dead…_

Severus had fallen to the ground and was cradling her limp body in his arms, murmuring feverishly under his breath. Whether he was begging her to wake up or trying some spell to revive her, Robert couldn't tell. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered anymore. What was the point in fighting? They were all going to die, Katherine had just happened to be first. They should just give up now…

He shut his eyes, unable to watch his friend's grief, and heard Bellatrix's delighted voice.

"Did you _love_ her, Snape?" She laughed cruelly, raising her wand and pointing it at Severus. "Do you want to die with her? Won't that make a nice ending to the story? The tragic lovers die in each other's arms? How very…Gryffindor."

Robert's eyes snapped open, glowering furiously at Bellatrix, burning rage surpassing all other emotions, but he'd barely drawn his wand when someone else broke through the crowd and stood between Severus and Bellatrix – Julian Lloyd. Bellatrix stared at him with contempt, and shook her head.

"Move out of the way, Lloyd."

Julian's hand moved so fast the Robert barely saw it, and Bellatrix yelled, left hand flying to her face to touch the gaping wound that had just appeared there.

"What the hell d'you think you're _doing_?" she demanded, shock showing in her wide eyes.

"You killed her," said Julian coldly, face set in hard lines. "You're going to pay for that."

Bellatrix lowered her hand slowly, gaze fixed on Julian and a curiously calm look in her eyes.

"You're choosing her over me?"

"I was never yours," said Julian, amber eyes void of any emotion.

"I looked after you," said Bellatrix, an edge in her voice now. "You had no one and I looked out for you!"

"She'd already taught me to look after myself."

"But she's _dead_," said Bellatrix, through gritted teeth, dark eyes sparking. "She's _dead_, and you're choosing _her_?"

Julian shrugged, an unhappy smile tugging on his lips. "No. She chose me. It's not something I had any say in." He grinned at the expression of fury on Bellatrix's face. "Irritating, isn't it? Knowing there are things out of your control?"

Bellatrix shot a hex at Julian, but he deflected it with a quick flick of his wand and smiled again.

"I always did wonder why she refused to call you by your proper name, but I finally figured it out. It's because you couldn't stop her doing it, isn't it? Such a childish thing to do – call someone by a nickname just to annoy them, but she wasn't allowed to do anything else to you, not with the Dark Lord around." Julian's mild expression switched abruptly into a scowl and his golden eyes narrowed in dislike. "Where's your Master now, Trix?"

Bellatrix screamed and launched into a fierce duel with her young opponent, and Robert forced himself to move at last. He stumbled out of the crowd of horrified onlookers and fell to the earth next to Severus, who'd buried his head in Katherine's dark, silky hair.

"Sev," he said quietly, reaching out a hand to shake his friend's shoulder. "Sev, we've got to move. Julian can't hold her off for long." Severus moaned quietly, tightening his grip on Katherine's body, and Robert tried again, looking up at the swarming Dementors above them with fear in his eyes. "Severus? Come on, Sev, don't do this to me. She wouldn't want you to die too."

"What do you care?" asked Severus furiously, his head snapping up, face drenched in tears. "This is what you wanted, right?"

Robert stared at him, unable to speak. What on earth was he going on about?

"She stopped because of _you_. She thought you hated her. She dropped her guard because she saw_ you_," hissed Severus, glowering at him.

"No…" Robert trailed off, the look on Katherine's face just before Bella's curse had hit replaying in his mind, the words trying to make their way past her lips. Sorry. She'd been trying to say sorry. "I didn't…"

He looked down at Katherine's pale face, wishing Severus' words weren't true. She looked so peaceful, almost as if she was asleep, but he knew she wasn't going to wake up. She'd killed Regulus. Had he really killed her?

His hand closed tightly around his wand and stood up, turning to face Bella and Julian's duel, intending to lend a hand, but he'd barely moved when he saw a flash of green light catch Julian in the shoulder and the younger man froze mid-spell, then toppled backwards onto the ground, an expression of acute surprise fixed on his face.

Robert stared at him for a moment, then raised his gaze to Bella's smirking face.

"Are you next, then?" she asked, mad eyes gleaming with twisted pleasure. She flourished her wand, assuming a formal dueling pose and Robert was just about to respond when a thought occurred to him. He paused and looked down again at Julian's body, and at the blank, staring eyes. That couldn't be right… "Given up, have we?" asked Bella, and Robert looked back at her, trying to slow his thoughts down for long enough to think properly.

"Give up?" he repeated, staring blankly at her. "No."

Bella sneered at him, treating him to a look of utter disdain. "You're hardly worth fighting."

Robert frowned a little, then smiled. "Ah yes, you would be under the illusion that I am - how did Greyback so eloquently put it? – 'thick'." Robert pocketed his wand and held up his hands in an apologetic manner, barely able to hear his own words above the thumping of his heart. "I'm sorry to say you were misinformed."

"You put away your wand," said Bella slowly, staring at him as though he'd just declared his faith in crumple-horned snorkacks.

"Yes, that would be because I know something that you don't seem to have grasped," said Robert, in the clear tone of voice he usually reserved for explaining to his young daughter why mummy's moisturizing cream wasn't good food for the neighbour's cat.

"That you have a death wish?" asked Bella sarcastically.

"No," said Robert, stepping back a little and trying not to think of the ridiculous odds involved in the risk he was taking, but then again, she'd never let him down before. Somewhere behind him the soft rustle of fabric on fabric made his heart skip a beat and he looked up at Bella, a dangerous grin spreading across his face. "Katherine Riddle has the luck of the devil."

Bellatrix frowned and opened to her mouth to say something, but the words never made it out because it was at that moment that the curse hit her squarely in the middle of the chest.

Robert closed his eyes and took a deep breath in, then opened them and turned around. Bright blue eyes met his and Katherine smiled. "Nicely put."

Robert made an inarticulate sound, and then his legs gave out. He sank to the ground next to her and reached out a hand to touch her pale face, as though to check she was really there, really alive. Severus, who'd been holding Katherine close, his eyes tightly shut, opened them and stared down at her in shock.

"Katherine?"

Katherine looked up at him and smiled. "Severus."

"What the…? You can't be… I don't understand," managed Severus, looking lost. "How did you do that?"

"We've got to move," said Robert quietly. "It's too dangerous here. Come on, into the trees."

Severus ignored him, hands gripping onto Katherine's arms so tightly that his knuckles were pure white. "You're ok?"

"'Course," grinned Katherine, reaching up a hand to stroke Severus' cheek gently. "Don't cry, Sev. I'm fine."

"But she killed you!" exclaimed Severus, looking as though he wanted to shake her but not daring to. "Katherine, you were _dead_."

"Move, now," said Robert firmly, grasping Severus' collar and hauling him to his feet. He pulled Katherine up with him, refusing to let go of her even for a second, and Robert hurriedly maneuvered them into the shelter of the dark trees, glancing behind to check they weren't being followed.

"Katherine, what happened out there?" asked Severus again, gazing intently into her eyes as though he could will the information out of her.

"I don't know – one minute we were dueling, then the Dementors arrived and…then Bella was threatening Robert, so I stole your wand and-" She mimed throwing a hex and smiled lopsidedly. "Where's my wand? I couldn't see it."

Severus frowned, but Robert chipped in softly: "You dropped it when you fell. Won't find it now."

"Oh," Katherine frowned, then shrugged. "Never mind."

Severus cocked his head at her, a curious expression on his face. "'Never mind'? We're in the middle of a battle and you've lost your wand, and you're saying 'never mind'?"

"Yes. I've got everything I need right here," said Katherine, smiling up at him and wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Kat, are you feeling ok?" asked Severus, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

"Fantastic," answered Katherine quietly, pressing her lips softly against his and pulling him closer. Severus made a half hearted attempt to push her away, then wondered why and dropped his grip on her left arm, slipping his hand round her waist instead.

"Did I miss something here?" asked Robert loudly, interrupting their kiss, and Katherine pulled back, staring at Robert with a puzzled look on her face. "When did you two…start doing that?"

Severus fought down the blood that threatened to rush to his cheeks and glanced at Katherine, only to see she was crying. "Kat…?"

"I'm sorry, Rob," she whispered, tears sliding down her face. "I'm so sorry I lied about Regulus' death. I should have told you, but I thought you'd hate me, and the only way to stop that would have been to tell you what he'd discovered, and I couldn't do that to you - it'd have endangered you as well as Cass. I had to do it on my own."

Robert leant back against the trunk of a tree and examined her closely. "Ok," he said slowly, frowning a little. "Only, Kat, you did tell me what Regulus was up to. What the hell do you think we've been doing for the past year?"

Katherine opened her mouth to reply, then shut it again, looking confused. Severus glanced uncertainly at Robert, one arm still resting protectively around Katherine's waist.

"Katherine?" prompted Robert, and she shook her head.

"I…I didn't want you to hate me," she repeated, though she sounded doubtful. "And I…I…I can't remember."

"You can't remember?"

"There were other reasons, I'm sure there were," said Katherine, frowning now. "You'd hate me, you'd tell everyone and… That's not right, is it?" She shook her head and looked up at Robert with a puzzled expression on her face. "That doesn't make any sense."

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Severus smiled a little, and buried his head in Katherine's soft hair.

"Kat, you haven't made any sense for the past twenty years."

Katherine gave him an unimpressed look, trying very hard not to smile. "Very funny, Sev."

"It's not funny, actually. It's true," said Robert quietly, and something in his tone made Katherine look up and pay attention. "You were messed up in school, in an incredibly complicated situation afterwards and then you went to Azkaban, where, ironically, you were probably the sanest you've been since you were a kid. And then you came out…" He sighed and looked apologetically up at his old friend. "We should have noticed."

"Noticed what?" asked Katherine uneasily. "Robert, what-?"

"Sev just said it, didn't he? You haven't made any sense for ages, but we didn't think that was odd because you've never been exactly normal, have you? Only you _should_ have been thinking straight for the past year, Kat. None of the old reasons for being messed up apply anymore – we aren't fighting a losing battle and everyone you care about is still as safe as they've ever been."

"You think I didn't care about Sirius?" interjected Katherine, scowling at him and holding up a hand to stop Severus from speaking. "I already told you I love you, Sev, so don't even think about getting upset. I didn't love him like I love you, but he was a big part of my life, ok?"

"See that is what I'm talking about!" said Robert, pointing a firm finger at her. "You're being reasonable, Kat. You're _never_ reasonable! You fly off the handle and attack problems at two hundred miles an hour."

"Robert, as delightful as your list of my imperfections is, I do have to ask one thing: what the hell is your point?" asked Katherine, arching her eyebrows and treating him to an impatient look.

"My point is that in the last two minutes you've gone through about seven different mood swings. Do you know why?"

"I have not," scowled Katherine, arms crossed as she glared at him.

"And this would be anger?"

"Yes! Because you're irritating me!"

"Katherine, what's the most corrupted thing in England?" asked Robert quietly, dark eyes focused calmly on hers.

"What?"

"What's the most corrupted thing in England?" repeated Robert. "It's not a hard question, Kat. Twenty years ago you'd have answered without batting an eyelid."

"Twenty years ago I would have said me," said Katherine with a scowl. "But I don't see what relevance that has to the current conversation."

"You don't?" asked Robert with a sour grin on his handsome face. "You were the one who told Potter they corrupted people."

"I told Potter what corrupt people?" asked Katherine with a sigh, leaning her head on Severus' shoulder.

"Horcruxes," said Severus quietly, and Katherine glanced up at him, confusion etched in every feature.

"What?"

"Horcruxes corrupt people, Katherine," said Severus softly, gazing down at her with the same look of apology in his eyes that she'd seen on Robert's face only a few moments before. Katherine stepped away from him, tilting her head to eye him uncertainly, then looked over at Robert.

"Is this about what I said when I brought you Reg's research? 'Cause I wasn't being serious, Rob – I never made a horcrux. Heaven knows my soul's unstable enough as it is without splitting it in two."

"It's not your horcrux, Katherine," said Severus gravely, reaching out turn her face towards him.

"I don't have a horcrux!" exclaimed Katherine, knocking his hand away. "Don't you think I would have noticed if there was a damn big chalice or something attached me? For a horcrux to affect something it's got to be in constant proximity to the object and there's nothing like that on me!"

"Bella hit you with Avada Kedavra, Katherine," said Robert patiently, massaging the bridge of his nose with two long fingers. "Nothing stops AK except a life." He dropped his hand to his side and smiled grimly at her. "You're not dead, ergo it wasn't your life she took."

Katherine stared at him uncomprehendingly as Severus slid a comforting arm over her shoulder.

"Luck of the devil, Kat. All the places she could have hit and she goes for the blindingly obvious," he said softly, placing his left hand over her heart. Katherine winced and tugged her shirt out of the way to inspect the skin in the center of her chest.

"What…?" She tore her gaze away from the black outline burned into her skin and stared beseechingly up at Severus. "You didn't…?"

Severus shook his head and slipped a hand under Katherine's collar, drawing out a glimmering silver chain. "I didn't make a horcrux either, Kat. Why on earth would I want eternal life when you keep nearly dying? Think I could live without you here to make it bearable?"

Katherine said nothing, only gazed down at the gleaming pendant he'd given her so many years ago. The two snakes, previously intertwined, now hung separately, their emerald eyes split into tiny shards.

"There must have been some charm on-" she tried, but Severus shook his head, fingers curling over the broken pendant.

"I had made from scratch, Katherine. A goblin owed Lucius a favour and I wanted to get you something special. There weren't any enchantments on it – it's just a necklace. It _was_ just a necklace. It was taken off you when you went to Azkaban, right? Well the next time it was seen was in Godric's Hollow, the night after Voldemort killed the Potters. We thought he didn't make a horcrux that night because he didn't kill Harry, but any death will do; he must have created it when his curse rebounded. And then the necklace was lost…until you came back and tracked it down." He sighed, watching Katherine's intent expression. "Tell me, how long after you found the necklace again did you go to Robert for help? A month? Two? You'd been doing fine on your own up to that point, and suddenly you start thinking you can't handle things. Do you see, Kat? Do you believe us?"

Katherine said nothing, just gazed up at him with large, blue eyes, and then smiled a little.

"You do realise I would have been happy with chocolate, right?"

"Excuse me?"

"For Christmas," said Katherine, placing a warm hand on his cheek. "This thing must have cost you all your savings."

"Well, Lucius chipped in a bit," said Severus slowly. "Look, Kat, have you been listening to what we've been saying? That necklace is a horcrux - your father's horcrux. It's been poisoning you-"

Severus' words were abruptly cut off as Katherine leant forward and kissed him fiercely on the lips. After a moment she pulled back, leaning her forehead against his and looking into his dark eyes.

"I love you, Severus. You know that, right? Corrupted, crazy, evil, whatever I am. I love you. I will _always_ love you. No matter what."

"I know," said Severus quietly, trying to gauge this new, eerily calm Katherine. "I love you, too."

Katherine smiled, then pulled away and looked at Robert. "I'm sorry I lied about Regulus' death. We've been friends a long time and you deserved the truth."

"And that would be?"

"He asked me to kill him. When Bella told me she'd been given orders to dispose of him, I went to see him right away. I don't know if I thought I could save him or what, but he told me about the horcruxes and made me swear to bring Tom down, and then Bella arrived and it was too late…" She stopped, gazing at the earthy ground despondently. "He asked me to do it. How was I supposed to refuse him when I've seen how Bella kills?"

Katherine looked up and met Robert's sad gaze. "You want forgiveness?" he asked.

"I want to know you understand."

"I do," said Robert quietly. "But if I say I don't, will you stay?"

"Stay?" cut in Severus, looking suddenly alarmed. "What do you mean 'stay'? She's not going anywhere. Are you?" he asked, looking to Katherine for confirmation. Katherine smiled crookedly, and Severus thought he saw tears glistening in the corners of her eyes.

"Love you, Sev. Hate him, more. Sorry."

"You're not going to- Katherine!" Severus lunged forward as Katherine vanished, and dug his hand into his pocket for his wand so he could disapparate and follow her.

"She took it," said Robert quietly, his voice sounding loud in the clearing. Severus whirled around to face his old friend with a furious expression on his face.

"She's gone to confront the Dark Lord."

"Yep."

"She's going to get herself killed!"

"Doesn't she always?"

"We've got to stop her. Come on!" Severus turned away and headed back through the trees towards the battlefield. Robert remained where he was a moment, resting his head back against the tree and gazing at the place where Katherine had disappeared, a puzzled expression on his face.

"Rob!"

"I'm coming," said Robert softly, heading after his friend. He caught up with Severus on the fringe of the battle and gave him a wan grin. "Ever think she might not want our help this time?"

"Does she seriously think we'd give her the choice? I'm not losing her again, Rob."

"Right then," said Robert, summoning a wand from a nearby corpse and handing it to Severus. He grinned sourly, brown eyes dark. "Death or glory it is."

**x – X – x**

Reviews will make my Christmas. :)


	62. Death or glory

**A/N:** First off, a hundred thousand apologies for the _loooooong_ wait you've had to endure for this chapter. At first I was busy, then I got ill, and then some stuff happened and I really wasn't in the right frame of mind to write, but it's finally DONE.

Oh, and one last thing: I'm currently in the process of rewriting Carpe Diem and Fire Burns, and one element of the changes being made has cropped up here. Katherine's muggle surname has changed from Aenigma to Archer.

Think that's everything.

Enjoy!

**xxx**

**Chapter 60 – Death or glory**

"You lose, Potter. Do you understand that?"

Harry squeezed his eyes tight and tried to block out the pain coursing through his body. He wouldn't give in, he wouldn't; he wasn't dead yet.

"She betrayed you, Potter. Did you really think you could trust her?"

"She hates you," Harry ground out through clenched teeth.

"That may be, but she'd never harm her own kin. You, on the other hand…" Harry exhaled sharply as the curse lifted and opened his eyes to meet Voldemort's slitted gaze. "Son of a man who hated her, godson of a filthy blood traitor who caused her so much trouble…why would she ever help you? It was a trap, Potter, that's all. A brilliantly executed trap."

"She destroyed…she destroyed the locket," Harry spat out, right hand frantically searching the rough grass for his wand. It had flown from his hand when Voldemort had knocked him down but it had to be close by. _Accio wand, accio wand…_

His hand paused as it met smooth leather and he turned his head sideways to see what he'd grabbed. It was a boot. Frowning, his gaze travelled up the black leather to a pair of faded jeans, a loose white shirt and a hollow blue eyed gaze.

"You?" he whispered, staring at Katherine's vacant expression.

"Why do people bother?" Katherine's voice was quiet, and could have been called calm if there had been any indication of emotion behind it.

"How did you get past the wards?" Voldemort demanded, stepping back from Harry and staring in disbelief at his daughter. Harry's quick glance at the blurred wall of motion surrounding them confirmed this – the wards Voldemort had erected to imprison them remained in tact, and yet he'd claimed no one could get through…

"They must be broken," said Katherine listlessly, expression not changing. Harry squinted up at her, wondering if she was even aware he was there.

"_They're not broken_", hissed Voldemort, looking furious, and Harry saw Katherine's lips curve into an unhappy smile.

"Then I must be." Katherine lifted her head and looked at her father, blue eyes blank and lifeless. "You win. You got what you wanted. You broke me. Congratulations."

Harry was vaguely aware of some activity outside the opaque wards - two dark shapes close up, huddled together. Were they trying to break the wards? Or reinforcing them? He didn't know, and it was getting harder to care. They'd missed a horcrux – or if Voldemort was telling the truth, Katherine was hiding one.

Would she do that? She'd seemed genuine enough when she'd said she wanted to kill her father, and the locket…that had been pretty emphatically annihilated; she'd smashed it to pieces – if that wasn't destroying a horcrux, he'd like to know what was.

He raised his head off the ground and tried to focus on Katherine. Whose side _was_ she on? Remus had said they could trust her, but even he seemed doubtful sometimes. Right now Harry wasn't sure she was even aware what she was doing; there was a glassy look in her eyes, like the one he'd seen when they'd gone after Hufflepuff's cup and she'd seen the Inferi…

"What are you doing here?" asked Voldemort, raising his wand and pointing it at Katherine's head. "Explain yourself."

Katherine sighed and gazed up at the dark night sky. "You went to a Muggle school, right, Harry? They must have taught you Maths? Divide something seven times, how may pieces do you get?"

"What?" asked Harry, pushing himself up onto his elbows and frowning at her.

"Eight pieces, Harry. Eight, not seven. And if you divide something in half seven times the piece gets smaller and smaller each time." She grinned lopsidedly, usually bright eyes oddly dull. "So if you get the seventh or eighth piece, the horcrux takes a bit longer to get a hold on it's surroundings, the change is a bit slower, more gradual. Maybe you just think you're going crazy again - after all, you've lost everything ever you cared about and there's no point trying to get your friends back because they hate you and there's a war on. People die in wars."

Harry had no clue what she was going on about; she seemed to be rambling but Voldemort was rapt, words failing him as he stared at his daughter. His wand was still directed at her, but he was making no attempt to curse her, and Katherine was still grinning in that weird way.

"Not me though," she said quietly. "I don't die in wars. Ever wonder why that is? Kel always said it was luck, but I'm thinking…not. No one's that lucky." Katherine glanced down at Harry, a thoughtful expression on her face. "Except maybe you."

"His luck's just run out," said Voldemort quietly, and because she had her head bent to look at him, only Harry saw Katherine wink then glance at her left foot, one eyebrow raised. Harry stared blankly back at her for a moment before she stepped over him and stood arms folded before her father. Harry rolled onto his side to look at them and it was then that he saw the wand tip protruding from the top of Katherine's left boot.

"Not just yet," Katherine said quietly. "I've had to put up with you since before he was born, and I'm not done yet." Voldemort drew back his wand, eyes burning with rage, and Katherine laughed. "You're not going to kill me. If you were, you would have done it by now."

"Who said I was going to kill you? You're the one who always said there were worst things," hissed Voldemort, as behind Katherine Harry reached out an aching arm, eyes fixed on the polished wand just inches away from him.

"Yeah but if you want me dead so much, why d'you order everyone not to even attempt murder?" asked Katherine, and Harry paused, fingers closed around the wand tip, sure he couldn't have heard that right. "When I came back last year you _knew_ I wasn't loyal to you anymore and yet you took me back. I admit, the enquiry about Cady's ring was a nice touch – you actually had me thinking that maybe you had a heart for a while there." Harry drew the wand out of Katherine's boot and moved back very slowly, careful not to attract any attention with his movement. He needn't have bothered – the whole of Voldemort's attention was focused on his daughter. "But you never gave a toss about the ring, did you? You just saw that it wasn't on my finger and you wanted to know what was on the chain. This chain."

Katherine hooked a finger under the silver chain that disappeared into her shirt and smiled. "You know, I don't know if you've noticed, but Bella's been going a bit off the rails recently. I think she would've really benefitted from a little refresher course in why she shouldn't attack the bosses' daughter, because I'm afraid she did seem to be under the impression that it was still a matter of whether or not you could trust me..."

Katherine laughed darkly, fingers twining around the glimmering chain that hung from her neck. "I'm sorry to report that as my little stunt earlier made it abundantly clear that you can't trust me one inch, Bella presumed all bets were off, and promptly decided to do what you never have." She tugged sharply downwards and winced as the chain in her hand broke. "Bella's dead."

She held up her hand and let the broken pendant swing from her closed fist. "Now you're mortal."

"And you're dead," said Voldemort, voice seething with fury. Katherine shrugged, a meditative expression on her face.

"Yeah, but it was worth it." She turned her head to look back at Harry and grinned, the usual sparkle in her eyes again. "Good luck, kid."

xxx

Robert swore under his breath, fingers moving like lightening through different spells and enchantments.

"Hurry up," pleaded Severus, trying to peer through the dark haze that surrounded Harry, Voldemort and presumably now Katherine too.

"Trying," said Robert, face fixed in a scowl as he fought to break the wards. "These just…aren't…shifting!" He sat back, hands clenched into fists, and took a deep breath. If he could just work out where they were cast from…

"Why have you stopped?" demanded Severus, glaring at him. Robert didn't look up, still thinking; there had to be a weak spot somewhere, he just had to find it. "Robert! If Katherine got through, we must be able to!"

"Kat's weird," muttered Robert under his breath, moving his hand slowly across the wards. "When it comes to wards, normal rules don't seem to apply to her."

Severus glared at him, and opening his mouth to say something, but Robert held up a hand to stop his remonstrations. "I think…yes…just here…"

Severus scowled and turned his attention back to the shady figures within the wards, trying to work out what was going on. A pale figure – Katherine? – stood between the other two, but he couldn't tell who was in control.

By his side, Robert let out a hiss of satisfaction and, just as Severus glanced down, the wards vanished. Severus' gaze immediately flew up to the scene before him and his heart stopped; Katherine stood before the Dark Lord, whose wand arm was drawn back ready to curse, with an expression of utter calm on her face.

For a moment, Severus couldn't move, acutely aware that the only thing stopping the Dark Lord from killing his daughter was his surprise at the sudden disappearance of the wards. Robert rose slowly to his feet, brown eyes darting nervously between the three figures in front of them. So they'd found Katherine – now what?

"You?" It was the Dark Lord who spoke, staring in outright amazement at his two followers, both of whom looked rather the worse for wear. "You broke my wards?"

Robert said nothing, feeling suddenly very exposed. Unlike Severus, he'd never been in close proximity with their Lord and Master for very long; a reputation as the organisation's resident dunce tended to mean you were largely left alone, save for meetings, where there were always plenty of other people in attendance.

"Katherine," said Severus quietly, breaking the silence, his dark eyes focused solely on her now. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Severus…" Katherine managed, blue eyes pleading.

"I already told you I'm not living without you anymore," ground out Severus, almost glaring at her.

Robert inhaled sharply as he saw the Dark Lord's look of mild confusion turn to sudden horrified realisation.

"Sev," he murmured, unable to take his off the Dark Lord's furious expression. "I really think-"

But Severus wasn't listening – he was striding forward to grab Katherine's arm, turning her to look at him. "I let Bella hurt you - I'm not letting anyone else even try, ever."

"Ever is a long time," said a cold voice, and the two turned their heads to see Voldemort directing his wand at Severus now. "How about: 'until the end of your life'?" He smiled, a cruel expression on his lips, and his slitted scarlet eyes burned with rage. "I'm very disappointed in you, Severus. You could have been great, and you choose…this."

"I choose her," said Severus quietly, raising his chin and slipping his hand into Katherine's.

"You choose a woman over power – glory?"

"Her," said Severus again, black eyes filled with hatred. "Her over you. Every time."

"I thought I taught you better, Severus," said Voldemort with a sigh. "It would appear not."

Robert, who had remained fixed where he was during this exchange, found his attention drawn to a familiar figure standing on the opposite side of the clearing, among the quickly forming crowd. His dark red hair was sticking up at all angles and there was a combination of blood and mud on his face and hands, but there was no mistaking James McKenzie anywhere. Right now, his old dorm mate was staring in blatant, gaping, disbelief at Katherine and Severus' joined hands. Robert rolled his eyes as his subtle attempts to catch James' attention failed – no help was going to be forthcoming from that quarter, apparently.

Voldemort drew back his wand once more, and Robert made to move forward, unsure what would be achieved even if he could stall the Dark Lord a little more, aside from adding one more body to the ever rising death toll, but then something so completely ridiculous happened that he stopped in his tracks.

Just as the Dark Lord was on the point of opening his mouth to curse Severus, a white object came flying out of the crowd now gathered around them, and hit him squarely in the back of the head. Robert followed the shape with his eyes as it rebounded and fell to the ground, rolling over a few times before coming a halt. It was a shoe, or to be more precise, a white, slightly tattered, trainer.

Robert stared at it, then slowly traced it's path back to the crowd where Faye Belle stood, breathing heavily, one foot bearing the twin of the shoe now lying a few feet from him, the other a black sock embroidered with pink stars. The Dark Lord had turned, too, and was now glowering at his, apparently not-quite-as-dead-as-previously-suspected, niece. Across from Robert, James' attention had finally been dragged away from Severus and Katherine's intertwined hands and he was now looking on in horror as Faye stared up at her uncle, green eyes wide with fear.

James looked around desperately and his eyes met Robert's. Robert looked quickly at Katherine, who had stepped forward, one hand outstretched towards her cousin, and made up his mind. He looked back at James and pointed to him, then to Faye, before jerking his thumb over his shoulder, his meaning clear – get Faye out of here. James nodded, face pale but determined, and slunk back into the crowd, moving silently around the circle to reach the blonde.

Robert took a deep breath, steeling himself, then yelled: "HEY TOM!"

Momentarily confused, Voldemort turned his head to stare at him, and James took the distraction to grab a startled Faye, who screamed as he looped an arm around her waist and dragged her backwards. Voldemort's head whipped back around, only to find an already closing gap in the tightly packed crowd. Robert looked desperately towards Severus and Katherine, the latter of whom was frowning slightly at him, a whisper of a bemused smile on her lips.

Robert raised his eyebrows, wondering why his friends' sudden decision to be noble had apparently rid them of their common sense. Katherine's frown deepened at his expression, then as Voldemort started to turn back around she finally caught on and tugged Severus away, breaking into a run as he found his feet.

Robert cast a final glance at Potter, who was on his feet now, borrowed wand in hand, then took to his heels as well.

Cowardice it may have been, but Robert had never been particularly bothered about what other people thought of him, and right now the only thing he did care about was surviving.

xxx

It didn't take long for Robert to find Katherine and Severus. They were on the other side of the clearing, just on the outskirts of the trees. Severus had his arm around Katherine's shoulders and was saying something to her upturned face. Robert smiled faintly, and tried to push the thought of Cassandra out of his mind; he'd never get to see her again – never hold her like that, or watch Katy growing up.

He walked forward, twigs snapping beneath his feet, and Severus looked up.

"You alright?" he asked, and Robert nodded.

"Saved our skins, you did," smiled Katherine, resting her head on Severus' shoulder. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," shrugged Robert, leaning against a tree and closing his eyes. May as well enjoy the feeling of fresh air and freedom while he could. "You've saved mine enough times."

"Well thank you anyway, because you know you didn't have to," said Katherine quietly, watching him closely.

"I just thought that since you two were acting so very Gryffindor, I might give it a go too," said Robert, opening one light brown eye to gaze back at her.

"What did you think of it?" asked Severus, with a slight grin on his thin lips.

"Not much – I think I'll stick to self-preservation, if it's all the same to you."

"Fair enough," said Katherine quietly. "It's worked well enough so far."

Robert meet her gaze, and smiled tiredly. "End of the line, now though, huh?"

"Pretty much," agreed Katherine, resting her head on Severus' shoulder.

"So you gonna tell us then?" asked Robert, sinking to the ground opposite them and gazing coolly at his old friends.

"Tell you what?"

"How you got out of Azkaban," said Robert, running a dirty hand through sweat streaked blond locks. "Either Potter or the Dark Lord is going to be dead pretty soon, so this is the last time we're gonna be able to speak freely. I mean, it's death or Azkaban, isn't it, and though I'm not entirely sure which appeals to me more right now, either way we're screwed." He exhaled tiredly and glanced up at her from under dark lashes. "Unless you happen to have some miraculous Plan B to get us all out of here?"

Katherine shook her head, looking sombre. "Sorry – was pretty much banking on Plan A working out."

"What was Plan A?" asked Severus, frowning down at her.

"Dying," said Katherine shortly. "Didn't really think I'd need an alternative this time. Number of enemies I've got, I was sure one of them would oblige."

"Didn't think of an escape for us then?" inquired Robert, and though he said it gently, there was more than a slight hint of accusation in his voice.

"Well I wasn't about to die if you still needed protecting," said Katherine with a sigh, rubbing the bridge of her nose as though trying to ward off a headache.

"So you thought we'd die as well," remarked Robert, looking up at the stars with an irritated expression. "Nice to know you think about these things."

"Rob-" started Severus quietly, but Robert looked down sharply and glared at him.

"_Don't_ Severus. Don't pretend you know how I'm feeling – I've got a wife and daughter who I'll never see again. Cass knew what she was getting into when she married me, but Katy - she's going to grow up without a father, and when she gets to school she'll be surrounded by classmates who are missing parents that _we _killed. I've ruined her life – my own daughter." He stopped, dropping his gaze and drawing in a shaky breath. He was vaguely aware that he'd been shouting, but he didn't care; he couldn't feel anything at that moment but the furious anger burning inside him and his own self loathing.

Suddenly there was an arm around his shoulder and he jerked his head up to see the blurred face of Katherine just inches from his own. He blinked a couple of times and her face came into focus, familiar blue eyes framed by dark lashes that seemed slightly damp.

"Ever wonder what would have happened if we hadn't joined?" he asked, almost in a whisper.

"Sometimes," admitted Katherine with a heavy sigh. "But we did, and unfortunately you only get one life, so I don't make a habit of regretting things if I can help it. Who knows, maybe there's an alternate world where Robert Avery is a core member of the Order of the Phoenix, and Katherine Riddle remained plain old Katherine Archer, and grew up to marry a nice Ravenclaw and settled down and never had any adventures." She grinned, a little sadly, and shrugged at his sceptical expression. "I said maybe."

"Personally, I prefer this Katherine Riddle," said Severus, casting a glance towards the throng of people that had formed on the battlefield.

"Me too," agreed Katherine, resting her head on Robert's shoulder and turning her gaze up towards Severus. "Much more exciting."

"She's not married to a Ravenclaw in this scenario, either," said Robert, giving Severus' back an amused look. Severus frowned, but did not turn around; Robert grinned and nudged Katherine. "So, what one did you have in mind? If you could have another life, which Ravenclaw was it that caught your eye?"

Katherine smiled and opened her mouth to answer, but paused just before she did so, eyebrows drawing together in a frown. Robert saw her mouth something to herself, still frowning, apparently deep in thought. Severus turned around at her silence and looked questioningly down at the two of them.

"Katherine?" he ventured uncertainly, taking a hesitant step forward. Katherine looked up and stared at him for a second before breaking into a huge grin. "What?" he asked, unnerved at her sudden change in mood. "What are you so happy about?"

"I got it wrong," she said simply, leaning back against the tree trunk behind her and looking nothing short of relieved. "Rob, have I ever told how completely brilliant you are?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact," said Robert slowly, looking rather bemused. "You got _what_ wrong, Kat?"

Katherine sat up and started to speak when the sound of approaching footsteps distracted her, and she turned to see two shadowy figures moving through the trees. Severus drew his wand but lowered it when a shaft of moonlight illuminated long blonde hair and Faye broke into a run as she saw them.

"_There_ you are," she exclaimed, falling to the ground in front of her cousin and pulling her into a hug. "We didn't know if you'd got away, and Jamie wouldn't let me go back," she explained, casting an irritated look at the ruby haired man who'd been following her, at the same time as Katherine smiled gratefully at him. "But you're ok – you are ok, aren't you?" she demanded, holding Katherine at arm's length and peering at her intently.

"I'm fine," assured Katherine, gently extracting herself from Faye's grasp.

"Good." Faye glanced at Robert and Severus and nodded to them. "Hello."

Severus raised a hand in greeting, but Robert just said quietly: "Nice socks."

Faye flushed pink and Katherine stifled another laugh. "A shoe, Faye? Seriously?" she asked, blue eyes dancing with amusement.

"I panicked, ok?" Faye said hotly, glaring at her cousin.

"And forgot your wand?" asked Severus, watching Faye with a certain amount of curiosity. "You are a witch, are you not?"

"So? Sometimes hexes just aren't enough," said Faye stubbornly. "Haven't you ever been so angry you just want to hit someone over the head with the closest thing to hand? Like a book, or a plate, or a-"

"Fencepost?" offered Katherine, earning herself four very odd glances.

"You've hit someone over the head with a fencepost?" asked James McKenzie, staring at her in disbelief.

"I might have done," replied Katherine, looking a little uneasy at the sudden attention.

"When?" he demanded, tilting his head to look at her, as though that might make her appear less crazy.

"Um, seventh year?" said Katherine, looking very much as though she wished she hadn't brought it up.

"You really were mental, weren't you," said Robert, raising his eyebrows, not sure whether he should be amused or worried.

"Little bit," agreed Katherine, catching his eye and smiling ruefully.

"Well some of us have more self control than that," said Severus calmly.

"So it was another Severus Snape who gave Evan Rosier concussion, was it?" asked Katherine with an inquiring smile.

"You know, sometimes you have an inconveniently good memory," Severus said quietly, looking darkly at her. Katherine just smiled, and shrugged.

"So, what are you going to do now?" asked Faye, brushing fine blonde hair out of her eyes and watching Katherine closely in the pale light. "And…is that a feather in your hair?"

"What?" Katherine reached up a hand and found the feather Archimedes had dropped was indeed tangled in her dark hair. She combed through it with her fingers and extracted the glossy feather easily. "Apparently yes, in answer your second question," she said, twirling the feather in her fingers. "And – depends on who wins, in answer to the first."

"Harry's going to win," said Faye firmly, and Katherine glanced up from the feather to smile at the conviction in her voice.

"In that case, I rather think I'm going back to prison," she said gently, an odd look on her face.

"But you can't!" exclaimed Faye, staring at her, wide eyed. "You've been helping Harry! They can't send you to Azkaban after that."

"Ah," said Katherine quietly, sharing a quick look with Robert. "You see, the thing is we didn't think mentioning that little bit of information would be particularly beneficial to anyone, really, so-"

"Beneficial?" repeated Faye, aghast. "It might save you from Azkaban!"

"And it might not," said Robert calmly. "However it _will_ damage Potter's currently spotless reputation and seriously misrepresent us. We didn't do it to save the wizarding world, we did it because it what was best for us."

"You're saying you helped defeat Voldemort just so you could go to Azkaban?" asked Faye sceptically, looking at him in frank disbelief.

"I did it so my daughter had a chance of growing up safe," said Robert quietly. "Kat did it to protect you and Remus, and, if haven't worked it out by now, Severus joined the Order so he could take down the man he held responsible the woman he loved's death." He stopped, casting a sideways glance at Katherine. "Even if she did turn out to be not quite as dead as everyone thought." Katherine grinned ruefully, and looked up at Severus, whose dark eyes fixed on her own. "So yes, we did it for ourselves, and now we'll take the punishment we deserve. It's not exactly as though we've been saints, is it?"

"You could still run," said Faye, in a subdued voice, though her green eyes were clouded slightly with what were probably tears.

"No, we couldn't," said Robert firmly. "The Aurors would find us, and in any case, I'm not putting Cass through that."

"And Mum gave me up so I wouldn't have to spend my life running," added Katherine, pushing herself to her feet and going to stand next to Severus. "I'm not going anywhere." She buried her head in Severus' shoulder, and he put his arm around her gently.

"So that's it? You're just giving up?" demanded Faye, looking imploringly at Katherine's turned back.

"Not running when we've got the chance is probably about the only honourable thing we can do right now," said a soft voice, and Faye whirled around to see James McKenzie looking soberly at her. "Come to think of it, it'll probably be one of the only honourable things I've ever done."

"So you're being stupid, too, are you?" asked Faye, glaring at him.

"Alex is dead. She was the last bit of family I had. I haven't got anything left worth staying around for," said James dully, shrugging. Faye looked as if she was about to hit him for a moment, then opened her mouth to yell instead, but the words had barely formed in her throat when James fell to his knees, his own mouth open in a scream, clutching desperately at his left arm.

Horrified, Faye looked to the others for help and saw immediately that all of them were in the exact same position. Robert, already sitting on the floor, was bent double over his arm, his violent swearing mercifully muffled, while Katherine and Severus had half sunk to the ground, still clutching onto each other, though both had gone very pale.

Faye stood frozen between them, unsure who to go to, and doubting she could help at all even if she did. Just as she had taken one hesitant step towards James, he stopped yelling, sagging to the ground, hand slipping away from his left forearm as he collapsed onto the cold ground. Faye stared at the tattoo emblazoned there, the black skull and snake contrasting sharply with James' suddenly sheet white skin. The Dark Mark, and it had been burning, but did that mean Voldemort was gone, or…?

She turned and saw Katherine sitting in Severus' arms, head resting gently against his chest as he stroked her hair.

"Katherine?"

Slowly, Katherine turned her head to focus on Faye, brushing the beginnings of tears away with her right hand.

"What happened?" asked Faye, staring at her fearfully.

"He won," said Katherine softly, turning back to bury her head in Severus' chest again.

"Who won? Katherine?"

Katherine said nothing, but held up one finger, pressing it to her lips and looking sideways at her cousin. Faye frowned in confusion, but stopped talking, and, in the sudden quiet, heard, in the distance, just beyond the trees that hid them from view, cheering.

**xxx**

_Reviews would be lovely._ :)


	63. Loophole

**A/N:** I know, I know, I haven't updated in months but I've been kinda swamped with work and lack of inspiration. This was originally intended to be longer, but since it ended up quite a lengthy chapter anyway and people wanted an update, I decided to split it. Hope you like it. :)

**x – X – x**

**Chapter 61 – Loophole**

Gabriel Taylor stepped out of the lift on level nine of the Ministry of Magic, and headed towards the staircase that would take him down to level ten, readjusting his hold on the file of papers in his arms. It had taken all of his charm and skill, as well as a considerable amount of bribery, to pull together the paperwork he had clutched to his chest, and he wasn't about let it go now.

He reached the polished oak door and pushed it open with his shoulder, ignoring the Aurors and other Ministry officials bustling past, shouting news and orders to each other. The room he'd entered was usually used as an office for one of the secretaries of the Wizengamot, but he'd slipped the wizard at the Help Desk a few galleons and received the key in return.

Now he strode over to the desk, placed the folder carefully down on it and turned to look at the room's only other occupant. He was sitting warily in one of the plush chairs in front of the desk and eyeing Gabriel with distinct unease. Gabriel looked back with a carefully polite expression, though he cringed internally at the state of the man.

The robes he wore were spattered with mud and something darker, which Gabriel very much suspected was blood – the man had just come from a battle after all – but that wasn't what made Gabriel hesitate before holding out his hand. It was the fact that under all the muck, the robes were still shabby – patched and frayed, the kind of clothes that any wizard with an ounce of self respect would have thrown in the fire years ago. Running his gaze over the man's face, Gabriel saw that the robes' owner wasn't in much better condition himself – light brown eyes watched him shrewdly from a scarred face, topped by greying hair that he supposed must once have been sandy brown in colour.

"Gabriel Taylor," he said briskly, as the man rose to shake the proffered hand. "And you must be Remus Lupin."

Lupin nodded, sitting back in his chair as Gabriel sank into the one on the other side of the desk and opened the folder.

"Well you know why you're here-" Gabriel began, pulling out papers and spreading them on the desk before him. "-and so I'm sure you'll appreciate-" He stopped, looking up at Lupin in surprise. "What was that?"

"I said, 'no, I don't'," repeated Lupin, in the same soft voice he'd used before. "I don't know why I'm here. I was helping get the wounded to Saint Mungo's when I received an urgent message from the Ministry demanding my immediate presence; it offered no explanation for the summons, and I really don't see what can be so important. People are in dire need of medical attention and you've pulled me in here to look at…paperwork?" Lupin's light brown eyes were angry now, and Gabriel made a slight reassessment of the man; after all, if her was friends with her…

"I'm really very sorry for interruption," he said carefully, resting his elbows on the dark mahogany desk and placing his hands together. "But my client was painfully clear on the matter. It is of the utmost importance that this paperwork is dealt with now."

"Your client?" asked Lupin, confusion breaking through his irritation.

"Yes, a friend of yours, I believe," replied Gabriel, picking up a sheet of parchment and reading the name aloud, not that he needed the thick black letters to remind him – this was one client he'd never forget. "Miss Katherine Arcadia Riddle."

"You're Katherine's lawyer?" asked Lupin, raising his eyebrows in surprise. He shook his head, and smiled wanly. "How much did you get for it?"

"Get for what?" asked Gabriel, momentarily disconcerted by the odd question.

"Your soul," said Lupin grimly, relaxing back into his chair. "Is the going rate still thirty pieces of silver?"

"Oh yes, very amusing," said Gabriel, with an insincere smile. "And no, Mr Lupin, these days thirty pieces of silver would not get you much more than preliminary consultation with me, let alone my soul, as you put it. But I am at a loss, I was given to understand that you and my client were friends?"

Lupin shrugged, rubbing a tired hand over his face. "We are, but that doesn't change the fact that anyone who could even think about defending her now has got to be a complete bastard." He peered at Gabriel from between dirty fingers and smiled sourly. "I would say 'no offence meant', but I wouldn't mean it. Besides, you and I both know it's why she picked you."

Gabriel smiled thinly, and examined Lupin over steepled fingers. "I think there has been a slight misunderstanding, Mr Lupin. I am not here to defend Miss Riddle – indeed, she fully intends to plead guilty, so there would be very little point – I am here to represent you." He paused to watch this sink in, and then gave a brisk little smile and waved a hand. "In a manner of speaking, at least."

He had Lupin's full attention now, and he sat up a little straighter, selecting a few pages from the various piles before him and placing them in front of Lupin. He saw the light brown eyes skim over the writing and look up again in confusion.

"14 Beaumont Street, Wimbledon; 56 North Avenue, Redland; 7a Faraday Street, Romford – what on earth has this got to do with Katherine?" asked Lupin blankly.

"You don't know?" asked Gabriel in genuine surprise; Katherine had said Lupin was her oldest friend, but from what he could make out, the man didn't seem to know very much about her.

"No, I bloody don't," snapped Lupin, anger returning as he looked down at the papers again. "I've never even heard of most of these towns - South Ockendon, Tiptree, Lynstead – wait, Lynstead?" He glanced up, frowning now. "12 Claringdon Road. That's Katherine's old house."

"They're all hers, actually," said Gabriel, casting a quick glance at his watch and smiling briefly.

"Katherine owns eight houses?" asked Lupin, one eyebrow quirked in an expression that seemed torn between disbelief and amusement.

"My client has, over the course of her life, acquired a number of properties, yes," said Gabriel carefully.

"When you say _acquired_," began Lupin, and Gabriel held up a hand to stop him.

"My client has assured me that there is nothing to link these properties to anything untoward, her ownership of them aside. That goes for everything detailed here, in fact," he added, waving a hand at the desk of papers. "She intends to keep all less reputable assets in her own name, but the rest you can do with as you wish." Gabriel smiled, resting folded arms on the desk and looking expectantly at Lupin, who stared back blankly.

"As I wish?" asked Lupin, brow creased in confusion. "I'm sorry, what's it got to do with me?"

"They're yours," said Gabriel simply, pulling another document from the folder before him. "Or they will be, as soon as you sign this."

"Katherine's giving me eight houses," said Lupin blankly as Gabriel slid the document towards him.

"Well, not all eight," said Gabriel, selecting another sheet of paper and skimming through it. "The one in Wimbledon she's giving to a Mrs Ophelia Corbelle _née _Lloyd."

"Right," said Lupin, and it seemed to Gabriel that he sounded a little odd. "Just the seven houses, then."

"Yes," said Gabriel slowly, leaning back into the plush leather upholstery of his chair and considering Lupin. "And the rest."

Lupin, who'd been resting his head in his hands, looked up sharply. "The rest?"

"My client has a number of assets – I haven't been able to get a full a valuation of everything yet, but from what I've been told, they should fetch a considerable sum. And of course, there's the money from her bank accounts, which currently stands at-" Gabriel hesitated, sifting through a few papers as Lupin sat staring at him in bewilderment.

"Bank _accounts_? She's got more than one?" Lupin asked, then shook his head and laughed dryly. "What am I saying, of course she's got more than one. I don't suppose she's bothered to pay her taxes, either, has she?"

Gabriel eyed Lupin curiously, then returned to searching through the papers. "I don't believe the residents of Azkaban are required to pay taxes, actually," he observed, eyes coming to rest on the figure he'd been searching for. "Two and half."

"Two and a half?" repeated Lupin, confused. "She's only got two and half thousand galleons left?"

"Sorry?" asked Gabriel, momentarily baffled.

"From her inheritance – her parents left her all their money when they died," prompted Lupin.

Gabriel tilted his head slightly, giving Lupin a curious look. "I am aware of that, Mr Lupin, but I think you may have misunderstood me. Allow me to clarify – Miss Riddle's funds currently amount to roughly two and half million galleons."

Lupin was silent for a long moment, face frozen in an expression of mild bemusement, then he shook his head, a slight laugh in his voice. "Katherine doesn't have that sort of money."

"She bought you a flat in Mayfair when she was eighteen," said Gabriel, brushing an imaginary piece of lint off his crisp robes.

"Yeah, but that was her inheritance money," said Lupin, pushing a frustrated hand through grey streaked hair. "Like I said, she got money when her parents died – they left her everything, but there's no way they had that much. And I know her job paid well, but she was only there for three years, and that's…that's just ridiculous."

Gabriel was quiet for a moment, surveying Lupin with shrew grey eyes. "As I understand it, my client's, shall we say 'extracurricular activities', attracted a certain kind of generosity from a certain kind of people." Gabriel smiled at Lupin's nonplussed expression, and explained: "All political movements have supporters, and sometimes those supporters who cannot only show their endorsement publicly, wish to help in other ways."

"People gave her money?" asked Lupin, catching on. "Why?"

"Well as I said-"

"No, I mean why _her_," cut in Lupin. "Why not donate straight to Voldemort?"

Gabriel arched an eyebrow, shuffling papers absently. "Because bank transfers can be traced, Mr Lupin. The Ministry may have had Miss Riddle under surveillance but they had no proof of any wrong doing. Besides, as I understand it, she was only one of the recipients of these…donations."

"There were others?" asked Lupin, rubbing a hand over his sweat marked brow. He paused, directing a sharp look at Gabriel. "Lucius Malfoy wouldn't be one these recipients would he?"

"I'm afraid my client didn't mention names."

"No, I don't suppose she would have," muttered Lupin. "Loyal in all the wrong ways, that woman. But look, the Ministry seized all her assets when she went to Azkaban – I know because Mad-Eye asked me if I knew what she'd done with all her money. She'd cleared it all out a week before she was arrested and they couldn't find where it'd gone."

Gabriel allowed himself a slight smile, and inclined his head in a nod. "That is because she knew that as soon as she was charged with anything the Ministry would take control of everything she owned, and she was somewhat reluctant to let that happen. As such, by the time Miss Riddle was arrested, the only assets which I am given to understand could be attributed to her, amounted a Gringotts account, containing thirty four galleons, five sickles and two knuts, a bedsit in Basildon and a year long subscription to the _Daily Prophet_."

"And yet you say she's got two million galleons sitting in a bank account that no one knows about?"

"Multiple bank accounts, Mr Lupin," corrected Gabriel, gently. "You see, Miss Riddle did not like her name very much, and rarely used it. The estate which Miss Riddle wishes to entail to you comes courtesy of a Miss Bane, a Miss Babel and a Miss Moony, amongst others."

"Miss-" began Lupin, a peculiar expression gracing his face, then he shook his head. "Right, but the Ministry – if you're doing this in Katherine's name, they have to realise that all this stuff her property, right?"

"They do," agreed Gabriel, narrowing his slate coloured eyes and folding his hands on the desk in front of him. "Which is why I need a signature now, Mr Lupin, before she is charged."

"But she's already charged!" insisted Lupin, pushing a frustrated hand through grey streaked hair. "You don't have to re-charge someone when they're recaptured – you just send them back to prison."

"In normal circumstances, yes," said Gabriel carefully. "But you see, your friend Miss Riddle really is _very_ clever."

"She found a loophole, did she?" asked Lupin, arching an eyebrow in a way that made it clear that this news did not come as a surprise to him. "Well come on then, what is it?"

"She died, Mr Lupin," said Gabriel simply. "And as the law currently stands, if someone dies and is subsequently resurrected, their criminal record is wiped clean. The record of previous crimes is kept, of course, but they cannot be held accountable for them. The legislation was originally put in place to cover humans who were made into vampires and such, as it was decided that undergoing a transformation that effectively killed the victim, meant that whatever rose up was a new life, as it were, and entitled to a fresh start. I do not suppose that the Wizengamot that sanctioned the law ever expected it to be used by someone such as your friend, but the wording is just vague enough that it can be."

"But Katherine didn't actually die," said Lupin incredulously, staring at Gabriel in outright disbelief.

"Oh but she did, Mr Lupin. You yourself identified the body, as did the Minister of Magic, the arresting Auror and no less than three independent healers. She was dead, Mr Lupin - the Dementors were sure of that, and they are not easy creatures to fool."

"Yes, but she did faked it, didn't she?" demanded Lupin, looking at Gabriel for support, but he only shrugged.

"If she did, she did it very well."

"Yeah well, like you said, she's _clever_," said Lupin, although it didn't sound much like a compliment to Gabriel. He was silent for a moment, and when he met Gabriel's gaze again, his eyes were accusing. "How long has she been planning this? I mean she must have known about this loophole before she went to Azkaban, right? That's why she did it, isn't it? To get immunity, start over? I mean, I know she's going back to prison now, but that's only because she's admitting to crimes, right? If she didn't, I'm betting there wouldn't be a lot of evidence to make any charge stick."

"No, there isn't," said Gabriel, not quite managing to keep the disappointment out of his voice. He'd spent a good quarter of an hour trying to persuade Katherine to let him defend her, but she'd only laughed and doubled his fee. "But like I said, she's pleading guilty – said it was the only way."

"The only way to what?"

"I don't know," shrugged Gabriel, doubting it would be entirely prudently to express his reservations over his client's sanity. He cast an anxious glance at his watch. "We really are running out of time, Mr Lupin."

"I don't care. I don't want it."

Gabriel stared at him in outright disbelief. "Excuse me?"

"I don't want her money. I'm not a charity case," said Lupin stiffly through gritted teeth.

"Maybe not," said Gabriel, his pale eyes narrowed as he watched Lupin. "But neither are you a wealthy man, Mr Lupin. You are, as I understand it, an unemployed forty year old werewolf who is currently living off the wages of his twenty five year old wife, and if you don't agree to sign these-" Gabriel indicated the papers before him "-within the next fifteen minutes, then I can assure you that you will always be so." He leant forward, resting his elbows on the desk and gazing at Lupin with dark grey eyes. "With respect, Mr Lupin, you cannot afford to refuse my client's offer."

"You can't make me sign," said Lupin stubbornly, crossing his arms over his chest and scowling at Gabriel, who sighed impatiently.

"No, Mr Lupin, I cannot, but if you do not sign, then no one will get anything."

"What?" asked Lupin, suddenly confused again. "What do you mean 'no one'?"

"Well, as important as you seem to be to my client, you are not her only concern. You see, it's all a bit complicated." Gabriel passed a well manicured hand over his glossy hair and eyed the papers wearily. "It's taken a lot of work just to get all these in order, and it would take time that we simply do not have to suitably divide up the estate between my client's various beneficiaries, and have them all sign a separate agreement, so you see-"

"She wants me to do it," said Lupin quietly. "I take possession of everything, and then it's divided it up later."

"That is correct," nodded Gabriel, glad that he'd caught on so quickly. "I have here a letter detailing the division of assets. I will of course handle the paperwork, but you must sign now."

"She did this on purpose, didn't she?" demanded Lupin, glaring at him now. "She knew I wouldn't take anything from her so she decided to guilt me into it. Surely it would have been easier to hand it all over to Faye or someone? How much longer is it going to take you to rush this exchange through because of my condition?"

"Why don't you let me worry about that, Mr Lupin? Besides, my client tells me you are the only one of her friends whom even the Minister of Magic himself could positively deny has any links with Death Eater activities."

"Scrimgeour? I wasn't aware that he-"

"Rufus Scrimgeour is dead," cut in Gabriel. "His body was found on the battle field two hours ago. A temporary Minister has been elected in the meantime – a friend of yours, according to my client - a Mr Kingsley Shacklebolt."

"Kingsley's Minister?" asked Lupin incredulously, sinking into his seat as he registered this new information.

"For the time being at least. If he shows good leadership skills, it may be made permanent. My client seemed to think he was a good choice, though I can't say I know much about him myself."

"He is a good choice," said Lupin, pushing a tired hand through his already messy hair. "He's got a hell of job ahead of him though."

"Indeed, but if we might get back to the matter at hand…?"

Lupin scowled down at the document in front of him, then looked up at Gabriel again, a calculating look in his eyes.

"Why didn't she sort this out before today? She knew there was going to be a battle - why leave it till now?"

"From what she said to me, I gather that she expected to die today, and of course if she had, her estate would have been divided according to her Last Will and Testament. As things stand, she's still alive and is currently sitting in a holding room waiting to be formally charged. As soon as that happens you lose everything, do you understand? There will be an investigation – everything will be so tied up in red tape that even if she dies in forty years time, you'll be unlikely to get even half of her estate."

"But surely they'll investigate even if I do sign everything over," said Lupin, a trace of worry in his voice, and Gabriel allowed himself a real smile this time.

"They can try, Mr Lupin," he said softly. "But as you said, Miss Riddle didn't hire me for my charming personality."

Lupin looked as though he agreed with that, at least, but even as he eyed the quill that sat to his left he still looked wary.

"Is there a problem?" asked Gabriel, watching him closely. They were running out of time, and if Lupin didn't sign before Katherine was charged, there was no hope of ever getting the other half of the exorbitant fee she'd promised him.

"Are you going to see Katherine again?" asked Lupin quietly, eyeing papers covering the table darkly. He raised his head, meeting Gabriel's steady gaze with hard eyes.

"Yes. She wanted to be told how things went," said Gabriel, uncertain where Lupin was going with this.

"So you can pass a message on from me?" Lupin asked, reaching for the quill and gazing at it thoughtfully.

"Certainly," agreed Gabriel quickly, smoothly pulling the required documents from the folder and sliding them across the desk to Lupin.

"Right. Now, I want you to tell her this – and mind you use my exact words: tell her that I think James was absolutely right about her," said Lupin, glancing through the papers he'd been handed. "She is every bit the manipulative, deceitful bitch he always said she was." Gabriel watched curiously as Lupin signed the forms with a flourish and gave them back to him.

"Is that all?" he asked, hesitating as Lupin pushed his chair back and stood up. "That's what you want me to tell her?"

"What else is there to say?" asked Lupin, frowning a little, seeming genuinely bemused.

"Well she has just given you rather a vast sum of money-"

"You think I should say thank you?" asked Lupin, smiling oddly at him. "What on earth would be the point of that?"

"It's what people tend to do," observed Gabriel, gathering up the papers carefully. "It's generally considered good practice."

"You think I need to tell Katherine that I'm grateful?" Lupin laughed, shaking his head and brushing greying hair from his forehead. "That woman has known me since I was five years old. There is nothing I can tell her about me that she doesn't already know."

Lupin turned to leave, but Gabriel hurriedly pulled a thick envelope from his folder and called him back. "Here – she wants you to have this."

"What is it?" asked Lupin, taking the envelope uncertainly.

"It's a copy of her Last Will and Testament, along with a letter. I think it explains things somewhat."

Lupin laughed dryly, and cocked an eyebrow at him. "Explain things? Katherine? That'll be the day."

Gabriel smiled tightly, and shrugged. "Well I must be getting on. Goodbye Mr Lupin, I'll be in touch."

Lupin nodded, and tucked the letter inside his robes. "Goodbye Mr Taylor."

**x - X – x**

_Reviews will cheer me up…and encourage me to update quicker. ;)_


	64. The Nature of a Soul

**A/N: **I have no excuse for this delay, except to plead writer's block…

XXX

**Chapter 62 – The Nature of a Soul**

_Dear Remus…_

How many letters had started that way?

_Dear Remus, you're very rude…_

_Dear Remus, I met a centaur today…_

_Dear Remus, what was the title of our Charms essay…_

_ Dear Remus, we're out of milk…_

From childhood letters to notes left stuck to the fridge in their flat, those words had become a fundamental part of his life and now here he was, two decades later, reading them again for the last time. He reached for the glass of firewhiskey that sat on the coffee table and took a sip, closing his eyes as the amber liquid left a trail of fire down his throat.

To be honest, he could think of a good few _Dear Katherine_'s he'd like to write right now, starting with _'what the hell were you thinking'_, but he knew it wouldn't be any use.

As the clock over the fireplace chimed the half hour he let his eyes drift back to the letter in his hand and raised the glass to his lips once more.

_Dear Remus…_

XXX

Nymphadora Lupin tumbled out of the fireplace in her flat and cast an anxious glance around the room, eyes quickly coming to rest on the dejected looking figure on the sofa.

"Remus?" she asked, hurrying over to her husband and sinking down to the floor in front of him. "Remus, are you ok? I've been looking all over for you. Kingsley said you'd been called down to Level Ten but by the time I got there you'd gone. What happened? Was it the guys from the Control of Magic Creatures department? They can't arrest you for fighting – I won't let them."

Bleary eyes lifted to look at her and Remus blinked, then shook his head. "No, it wasn't them. I'm not in trouble."

Warm relief flooded through Tonks, but the downcast expression remained on her husband's face. She hesitated, but when it became apparent no further explanation was forthcoming asked gently: "So what was it then? Who wanted to see you?"

"A slippery young man named Gabriel Taylor," said Remus heavily, pushing dishevelled hair out of his eyes. "Katherine's lawyer."

Tonks frowned at the mention of the name and placed a soft hand over his calloused one. "What did he want?"

"Well to cut a long story short, to make me executor of her Will," said Remus, adding quickly at Tonks' look of confusion: "No, she's not dead, but it's not like she'll be needing the money anymore."

"You spoke to her?" asked Tonks, eyebrows raised in surprise. She'd heard of Taylor's talents, but she would have thought that even he'd have trouble getting a civilian in to see prisoners at this point.

"No, she wrote me a letter," Remus explained with a sigh, gesturing to the table behind her. "Her attempt to explain things."

Tonks was silent, words of comfort failing her. What could she say? However much Remus had tried to explain his relationship with Katherine, she had trouble separating the loyal friend in his stories from the Death Eater with a category five warning rating stamped across her file in bold red ink.

"Aren't you going to ask?"

The question caught Tonks off guard and she looked up at Remus in surprise. "Ask what?"

"What she left me," said Remus, an expression that Tonks couldn't quite place showing on his face. "In the Will."

"What did she leave you?" asked Tonks obligingly, pulling herself up to sit next to him and wondering if the flicker in her husband's eyes was amusement. In answer, Remus picked up a thick scroll of parchment from the table and handed it to her. Tonks unrolled it and stared blankly at the page of figures. "What's this?"

"A rough estimate of her total worth," said Remus, summoning another glass from the kitchen and pouring out a liberal amount of firewhiskey. "It's got to be divided up, of course. There's some money for Faye and the daughter of the Averys, some jewellery for an old school friend and an order for a frankly enormous bouquet of forget-me-nots for Mad Eye, which I'm sure he'll love, but by my calculations, she's left me about two thirds of it. Drink?" he asked, holding out the whiskey with a wry smile playing around his lips.

Tonks took the glass slowly and skimmed over the numbers again, frown increasing the further down the page she read.

"I don't understand," she said quietly. "Where did this come from?"

"Investments," said Remus, downing his own drink and topping up the glass once more. "And some not so reputable investors. The majority of the funds in the bank are her own though," he added quickly, seeing her expression. "From what I can make out, she used her wages to buy shares in a few lucrative muggle companies and got a very good team of accountants to keep things going while she was in Azkaban. They made her a small fortune and got an exorbitant fee for their services, I'm sure."

"But the other stuff? The houses?"

Remus gave another shrug. "I don't think she bought all of them herself, if that's what you're asking, but it's her name on the deeds. All the same, I think it'd probably be best to sell them. Some of the money will go to her friends and the rest… I don't know – give it to charity. What do you think?"

Tonks nodded vaguely and in an effort to stop the world spinning around her, took a large swig of the amber whiskey in the glass. It didn't help.

"It's a lot to take in, I know," said Remus gently, but Tonks shook her head.

"It's not that – well, it is partly – but I was just wondering…why? What was she planning on doing with it? You don't amass that kind of money without some serious forethought, but she must have known she'd never be able to spend it. Bringing down You-Know-Who was always going to end in death or prison, so what use was the money to her?" She looked at Remus questioningly but he only smiled.

"Knowing her, she was probably planning on making a run for it. It wouldn't be too hard – collect the money, change her face and disappear."

"Then why didn't she?" pressed Tonks, her eyebrows drawn together in a frown.

"I don't know - she changed her mind. Maybe she was tired of running – everyone has to slow down sometime." He sighed at Tonks' unconvinced expression and asked patiently: "You don't think so?"

"No," said Tonks, gazing into her glass meditatively. "I don't. People like her only have two gears – manic and dead." She paused, then said: "A bit like Sirius, I suppose."

"Yes," agreed Remus softly. "It's why they got together. And why they fought."

"They did that a lot?"

Remus chuckled softly. "I think the best word to describe their relationship would be _tempestuous_. Both very clever, rather unhappy and extremely reckless."

"And yet she took the time to plan for the future," said Tonks quietly, her dark brown eyes staring at the fire, expression lost in thought.

"I thought you didn't think she was going to have a use for the money?"

"She didn't."

"Then-"

"It wasn't for her."

Remus stared at her for a moment and then he realised what his wife was implying and laughed; he couldn't help it. "Me? 'Dora, this is more than most people can spend in a lifetime: I could buy everything I've ever wanted since I was a child and still have a fortune left over. What do you suppose she intended me do with a few million galleons?

Tonks took a sip of her whiskey and shrugged, her lips slowly curling into a smile that was very reminiscent of her late cousin. "Anything you want."

XXX

Robert Avery lay on the rough wooden bunk that served as both seat and bed in the cramped room, and stared at the grey stone ceiling above him. He had no way of telling how long he'd been in there - after the battle they'd all been rounded up and shipped off to the nearest holding cells. He'd ended up in the Ministry of Magic, in one of the few cells used for containing prisoners awaiting trial, and apart from a brief consultation with a ministry appointed lawyer, hadn't seen a soul since, with the exception of his cell mate.

He shifted position on the bench in a vain attempt to make himself more comfortable, and decided it was time to broach the subject that had been playing on his mind for the past few hours. With a sigh he twisted his head round to look at the room's other occupant, who was sitting propped up against the opposite wall, dozing, and asked: "Unstable?"

Dark blue eyes opened slowly and Katherine frowned at him sleepily.

"What?"

"Unstable," he repeated, sitting up and leaning forward to meet his friend's gaze. "When we were in the forest talking about horcruxes, you said your soul was unstable."

Katherine shrugged her shoulders and yawned. "So?"

Robert rested his arms on his knees and scowled at her. "Odd choice of words, don't you think? Corrupted, yes - damaged, fine - but unstable? Why did you say that?"

Katherine put a hand over her mouth to stifle a second yawn and allowed her eyes to drift shut again. "I say a lot of things."

"You haven't told the Aurors that Bellatrix Lestrange isn't dead," said Robert evenly, allowing himself an expression of grim satisfaction as she looked sharply up at him, eyes narrowed. He'd thought that might get her attention. "No need to look so surprised – you didn't exactly make much of an effort to conceal what you were doing. Severus may have been too busy crying over your supposedly dead body to notice, but I know Inopia when I see it."

There was a pause as Katherine considered him, then she frowned and said softly: "So what?"

Robert's light eyebrows rose a fraction. "So what? So she's still alive, Katherine. Don't you think someone's going to notice?"

Katherine appeared to give this some consideration, then said slowly: "With the amount of bodies on that field, I doubt it. Everyone knows she's a Death Eater – they're not going to be trying too hard to find any signs of life, are they? I expect they'll assign someone to deal with the dead Death Eaters. Do you think she'll be buried in the Black vault or the Lestrange? I never was sure how that worked."

She looked up at him with questioning eyes and Robert shook his head in despair. "You're really going to let them bury her alive?" he asked, scrutinising her carefully.

"Why not? Don't tell me you're feeling sorry for her? This is the woman who tortured two Aurors into insanity for fun. Oh, I know her little band of psychopaths wanted to find out what had happened to the Dark Lord," Katherine said quickly, waving away his attempted interjection. "But honestly, how long do think it took for them to realise they didn't have any information? One hour? Two? I've seen weaker people than the Longbottoms recover from that, and they had a newborn son to live for. How long could you hold on for Katie and Cass?"

Robert scowled at her, choosing to ignore the question. Did she seriously expect him to believe she was punishing Bella for the Longbottom's insanity? It was true that Frank had been in their year at school but he was willing to bet a week's wages that Katherine could count the number of times she'd spoken to the man on one hand.

In fact, despite the enmity that had always lurked beneath the surface of Katherine and Bella's relationship, he very much doubted the latter would be in her current predicament if she hadn't foolish enough to murder the last heir of the House of Black.

"This isn't about Sirius," said Katherine quietly, disturbing Robert's musings. "It was written all over your face," she explained with a wry smile on seeing his expression of surprise. "And yes, ok, it is partially about him, and about Remus and all the other people she hurt, but mostly, I'll be damned if I'm going to let her get a quick death while I live out the rest of my days in Azkaban."

"But no one knows how long Inopia lasts for," pointed out Robert, frowning at her. "She might live for another hundred years – and what happens if it wears off? Are you willing to risk…" He trailed off in the face of Katherine's amused expression. "You do know how long it lasts, don't you?"

"Eight and a half years," said his friend, with a somewhat inappropriate grin. "Most people go insane within the year, though, and I suspect it'll be even quicker for her – she always was a few pumpkins short of a pasty. Regarding what happens_ physically_, the spell is holding her body in stasis so when it degrades…well, I've never witnessed a body suddenly realising it's been deprived of air, water and nutrients for eight years but I don't imagine it will be pretty."

Robert stared at her blankly, trying unsuccessfully to banish the image that was now presenting itself in his mind.

"Remind me again how old you were when you invented this curse?" he asked, resting his head in his hands and deciding that Bella was definitely not alone in the insanity department.

"I was in a bad place," she shrugged. "Have you never felt trapped inside your own head?"

"And you wanted to make other people feel like that?"

"Some people deserve it. Bella doesn't have a conscience – put her in Azkaban and she'll live the rest of her life reminiscing about the good old days and tormenting the guards. This way, she has no choice but to reflect on her sins." Katherine eyed him steadily and said calmly: "Besides, if I'd have killed her, how would she have known I'd won?"

"Some victory," said Robert gloomily.

"You think so? The Dark Lord is dead. Your wife and daughter are safe. Nicola is safe. You, me and Severus are alive. We saw the end of the war, Robert. Look me in the eye and tell me you thought that would happen."

"I knew you would. You always survive - you're like a cockroach," said Robert sardonically and Katherine pulled a face.

"Charming. I think I'll stick with Remus' theory of nine lives, if it's all the same to you."

"So which one are you on now?" Robert asked, raising a curious eyebrow.

"Oh, I lost track years ago. The seventh? Possibly the eighth." There was a slight pause as she frowned. "Probably the ninth, actually. If you count Azkaban." Katherine glanced up at him with a wry smile that faded as she caught his expression. "What?"

"Well, about that…" Robert leant back against the wall and surveyed her steadily. "I was just wondering what you would define as death."

"An absence of life?" replied Katherine, treating him to a look of utter bemusement.

"Life being your soul?" persisted Robert, noting with satisfaction the way Katherine's eyes narrowed ever so slightly at his words.

"If you like."

"Only I've been thinking: a Dementor's kiss extricates a person's soul, doesn't it? And the victim doesn't die, they just…exist. Not really alive, but not dead either. But maybe Dementors aren't really all powerful – there must be something left behind that even they can't take." Robert looked to Katherine for confirmation and met a cold blue stare in return. Yes, he _definitely_ had her attention now.

"But if you _could_ completely remove someone's soul," he continued, matching Katherine's gaze with a determined look of his own. "Not kill them, but place their soul outside of their body, like you do with horcruxes, except the soul is in one piece – what would happen to their body? The Dark Lord's soul survived when his body was destroyed at the end of the first war. Can a body survive without a soul?"

"The substantial number of skeletons and decomposing carcasses in the world would seem to point to 'no'," said Katherine dryly, but Robert shook his head.

"That's different – when someone dies, their soul moves on to…whatever comes next. In this case, the soul is still connected to the body – it's just absent. For all intents and purposes, the body is dead – but the person it belongs to is not. All they need to do is restore the soul to the body, and voila: one miraculous return from the dead." Robert paused and smiled at his friend who had kept a carefully impassive expression throughout his theorising. "There's just one problem in this scenario, really: it's impossible to separate your soul from your body while you're alive. The link between the two is just too strong: the amount of effort it takes to create a horcrux is proof enough of that. For someone to pull their entire soul out of their body, that connection would have to be seriously damaged. I mean, the Dark Lord didn't manage to harm his, even with all his horcruxes, so what on earth could a person do that would mess their soul up that badly?"

Katherine sighed and rested her forehead against the heel of her hand with an air of tired resignation. "How many times do I have to tell you I didn't try to make a horcrux before you'll believe me? For heaven's sake, I didn't even know they existed before I saw Regulus' notes."

"Your soul is unstable," said Robert, leaning forward with narrowed eyes. "You didn't say that as some flippant remark, you said it because it was true – and it makes sense. It's the reason you can walk through wards as though they were nothing more than cobwebs – they're supposed to keep any human out but you don't register. The thing that separates humans from animals is their souls, so there's clearly something wrong with yours. And changing your shape at will? If you were a metamorphmagus, you would have been able to do it from birth and you couldn't – it only started in fifth year. The soul gives the body its form – when the Dark Lord removed parts of his he changed physically because the soul's hold on his form lessened. The link between your body and soul is so broken you can change into an animal just by thinking about it, so don't tell me you didn't do anything to it."

Katherine was quiet for a moment, and then said in a voice of barely concealed irritation. "You know how when kids are messed up everyone blames the parents?"

"Yes," said Robert uncertainly, not sure he understood where she was going with this.

"Blame my parents," said Katherine, raising her head to look him in the eye and smiling grimly. "Did you know there's a division in the Department of Mysteries dedicated to unravelling the secrets of life? They've never gotten very far, but there is one thing that they are certain of: new life can only be created from the union of two souls. Now if Potter is to believed, my charming father made his first horcrux when he was sixteen years old and I wasn't born for another five years. By that time I'd guess it wasn't so much the meeting of two souls as one and a sixteenth. In the circumstances, I suppose I should be thankful I exist at all." She sighed and gave him a tired look. "Satisfied?"

"You were fine before fifth year," said Robert quietly, watching her carefully.

"Yes," said Katherine heavily. "But when your soul is clinging to your body by the skin of its teeth, it's probably not a good idea to go around committing acts that tear it to pieces. No amount of remorse can heal the damage that does."

They were both quiet for a moment, then Robert ventured: "Well I suppose that explains the whole…fifth year thing."

Katherine smiled weakly at him. "You mean me nearly losing my mind?"

"I was trying to be diplomatic but yes." Robert smiled at Katherine's laugh, then asked quietly: "Why did you never say anything?"

"Because at the time I didn't know what the hell was going on," said Katherine. "Even after I'd read Regulus' notes it took me a while to piece things together. I knew I could change my appearance but I didn't connect that with Tom's horcruxes until I did my own research and found out about the theory of forms. After that it was just a matter of experimenting – seeing just how much I could do."

"You could have said something after you broke out of Azkaban."

Katherine laughed again and grinned at him with a hint of her old mischief. "And give away the secret behind my biggest tricks? Explanations make the miraculous into the mundane, Robert. The only reason I've survived as long as I have is because I can do seemingly impossible things and it scares the hell out of people."

"You could have told _me_," said Robert, the words coming out slightly sharper than he'd intended.

Katherine smiled at him sadly. "Yes, but would you have had nearly as much faith in me if I had?"

"It would have shown a little mutual trust," said Robert, frowning at her in exasperation.

"I do trust you. I just don't always tell you everything. Besides, in my defence you never really pressed the issue," she said with a shrug and Robert's frown turned into a scowl.

"You always changed the subject whenever I tried. You're a master at dodging questions."

"Well we're probably going to be sitting here for some time," said Katherine with a sigh. "Ask away."

"Fine. How did you get out of Azkaban?"

An expression somewhere between pity and annoyance flickered across Katherine's face at the question and she said softly: "It won't help us this time."

"Why not?"

"Because this time I didn't have a chance to hide a wand about my person," said Katherine, running her fingers through her hair with a slight air of embarrassment.

Robert frowned, not sure he understood. "You smuggled a wand into Azkaban? How? They do…searches, don't they?"

Katherine laughed at his uncomfortable expression and hitched up the hem on the left leg of her jeans. Robert opened his mouth to ask what she was doing when the surface of the smooth skin rippled to reveal a pale seven inch scar running along the inside of her calf.

"Being able to change your appearance comes in handy sometimes," said Katherine. "I'd collected a couple of extra wands over the years, so when I knew I was going to be arrested I thought it would be a good idea to take one with me."

"But how did you… you know."

"Get it out?" Katherine pushed her jeans down again and held up a hand now adorned with a set of vicious looking talons. "Are you ok? You look like you're going to be sick."

Robert shook his head, trying for the second time that night to rid his brain of unwanted images, and swallowed hard. "So you destroyed the wall and walked out of there?" he asked, in a desperate attempt to move the conversation on quickly.

"No, I just apparated out. Like you said, wards don't pose much of a problem for me and I wanted some time to try and find horcruxes without the Dark Lord wondering where I was. I went back last year to break down the wall."

"You _went back_?"

Katherine laughed, seeming genuinely amused. "How else was I supposed to get your attention? If I'd have shown up on your doorstep without staging a break out you would have thought one of two things: a) that the Ministry was trying trick you into incriminating yourself with a rather poorly thought out scheme or b) you were hallucinating. On the other hand, making an incredible return from the dead, breaking out of Azkaban and then turning up in the middle of a Death Eater meeting with the unconscious body of a former classmate is pretty much typical behaviour from me in your eyes."

"So how long were you actually in there?" asked Robert, resting his head in his hands as he tried to comprehend the convoluted machinations of his friend's mind.

"Sixteen years."

"And your soul?" He looked up and fixed her with a stubborn gaze.

"About two," she admitted with a wry smile.

"You followed the Dark Lord?" he asked and she nodded.

"I didn't believe the rumours going round that he'd been killed but then Bella was brought in and I realised it must be true. After that it was just a matter of listening out for any clues as to where he might have gone and then-"

"You shuffled off your mortal coil?"

"I sought out Archimedes," said Katherine, giving him an amused look. "It was the natural place to go – we already shared a soul link. He was my eyes and ears for fourteen years, on and off. Things got a little trickier when the Dark Lord returned to England, and I had to stop completely when he made himself a body. Fully restored there's no way he wouldn't have noticed someone following him so I left Azkaban, looked for horcruxes for a while and then sought you out."

"Yes," said Robert, a slight frown creasing his forehead. "You never did say why you decided on me. Severus would have helped you in a heartbeat but you actively avoided him."

"I figured you'd appreciate the chance for a little redemption," said Katherine gently, giving him a small smile. "Plus, you were, let's face it, up the proverbial creek without a paddle and bringing down our Lord and Master was your only way out."

"It could have got me killed," added Robert, feeling his friend wasn't treating this with the gravity it deserved.

"You weren't though, were you?" said Katherine lightly. Robert scowled at her but it only made her grin wider. "I wouldn't have let anything happen to you. Apart from anything else, Cass would never have forgiven me. Besides, it's not like you weren't playing a double game before I came along. If anything, having me on side was safer: I've been doing it longer."

"What are you talking about?"

"A little bird told me that you fed misinformation about the Hall of Prophecy to the Dark Lord. Got into quite a lot of trouble over it, too. You set his plans back a good few months. Accident, was it?"

Robert narrowed his eyes, surveying his companion critically. "I thought you stopped watching the Dark Lord after he got his body back."

"I stopped following him," said Katherine. "But it's always good to keep up-to-date with things and, well, let's just say that certain houses aren't as impregnable as their owners think."

"Malfoy Manor?" he guessed, and Katherine smiled.

"Amongst others."

"So all those times you claimed to have no knowledge of recent events…?"

"You would have asked too many questions. It was bad enough that I let slip about seeing what happened in the graveyard. You would have just been confused if I appeared to know everything."

"So you just lied instead?" asked Robert, rolling his eyes heavenward.

"I lie all the time. If you haven't worked that out by now, there's no hope for you."

"I don't suppose you're lying about not having an elaborate escape planned?" queried Robert, raising his eyebrows and Katherine shook her head, the smile fading from her lips.

"Sorry. Like I said, I expected to be dead by now: it seemed a little pointless to plan beyond that."

Robert sighed and, searching for a change of subject, asked: "What about Severus?"

Katherine frowned, playing absently with a lock of black hair. "Well I don't imagine he'll be in Azkaban with us for very long. He was in the Order right from the start and I told Remus what really happened between him and Dumbledore, so Kingsley should vouch for him. After that, I don't know – I think he's had enough of teaching, but with talents like his he's bound to find something worthwhile to do."

"That wasn't what I meant," said Robert seriously. "From what I saw earlier, you two had finally got your act together, and now he's never going to see you again."

Katherine shrugged, regarding him with dark eyes. "He understands."

"Really? He spent twenty years waiting for you, then you finally tell him how you feel only to disappear from his life within twenty four hours. You honestly think he's ok with that?"

Katherine smiled sadly. "I didn't say he was happy about it, but whatever else Severus may be, he is practical. I can't avoid Azkaban, but he can. What use would he be to anyone in prison? He still has a chance to make something of his life and I wouldn't begrudge him that for the world."

"But…you love him and now you're giving him up without a fight."

"What else can I do? It's entirely my own fault - I wasted too much time," said Katherine heavily. "When we were in school I kept away because I knew I'd only put him in danger. He believed in everything that the Dark Lord was saying and I couldn't risk him finding out that not only did I not believe in it, I was working to sabotage things as much as I could. It would have put him in an impossible situation. After Azkaban, there didn't seem much point in doing anything. I thought I was going to get myself killed and I'd hurt him enough already without putting him through that."

"So what changed?"

Katherine smiled faintly, resting her head against the wall and closing her eyes. "Someone told me to risk being happy."

Robert had just opened his mouth to ask who she meant when there was the sound of a key turning in the lock and the door swung open to reveal two grim faced Aurors.

"Time to go?" asked Katherine, eyeing the heavy handcuffs the taller of the two men was holding.

"You're being transferred to a secure unit," replied the man with the handcuffs.

"Scared I might disappear on you?" she grinned, shooting an amused glance at Robert.

"Are you going to come quietly?" asked the second man and Katherine shrugged.

"Do I have much choice?" she inquired, stretching her arms above her head and yawning. She got to her feet slowly and looked at Robert again, smiling sadly. "Guess this is it."

"I suppose so. It's been…memorable," said Robert wryly, standing up and holding out his hand. "_Ave atque__vale, mi amice__._"

Katherine laughed softly and took his hand in hers for the last time, a faint smile still playing on her lips. "_Au revoir_."

XXX

_Reviews are lovely, as always. Even the ones yelling at me for not updating in years… Merry Christmas. :)_


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